


Second Chance

by Quickspinner



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Fluff, Lukanette, Past Relationship(s), Rock Star AU, SO MUCH FLUFF, Second Chances, give the boy the happiness he deserves, happy endings, juleka is so over these two, mention of past adrienette, workaholics in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-10-26 08:15:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20739086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quickspinner/pseuds/Quickspinner
Summary: It's been years since he last saw Marinette. He's a successful rock star and she's been traveling the world chasing her dreams. Luka thought he had grown up and moved on, but when Marinette lands back in Paris and seeks him out, it takes about ten seconds for him to figure out he can't resist a second chance.Aged-up rock star AU, total self-indulgent Lukanette fluff.





	1. The One That Got Away

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read my fic "I Will Give You the Stars," the beginning of this one will look really familiar. I didn't intend this as a sequel, but I don't think I've written anything that contradicts it, soooo it's up to the reader. Certainly you don't need to have read that fic to get this one.

Luka tossed his sweaty hair back from his face and looked out at the blinding lights. “Okay guys,” he said into the microphone, picking idly at his guitar. “I think we’re gonna take it down a bit for this next song. But first, can we bring the house lights up please?”

Used to his quirks, the lighting crew responded quickly, dimming the lights in his eyes and turning up the lights on the crowd in the packed stadium.

“That’s better,” Luka said, skimming the crowd of fans waving and screaming wildly. “I know this might be kinda weird if this is your first show with me, but I just like to see you. Put some faces to my audience. This is a two way street, you and me, and I don’t wanna forget that.”

A small crowd of girls off to his right screamed in rehearsed unison, “WE LOVE YOU LUKA!” 

He grinned toward them and winked. “Love you too, sweethearts.” As they shrieked excitedly he looked at the banner they were holding up, decorated with birthday cakes and glittery letters. “Seventeen huh? Nice. Happy birthday, babe.” The girl in the middle of the group wearing a sparkly tiara put her hands over her mouth, eyes huge, while her friends practically mobbed her. Luka chuckled and returned to his perusal of the crowd, meeting as many eyes as he could. Somewhere a group of fans screamed for Juleka and out of the corner of his eye he could see her raise a lace-gloved hand to blow them a kiss. 

Suddenly he locked eyes with a familiar sapphire gaze and the rest of the stadium disappeared. 

“Well hey there, beautiful,” he said softly, ignoring the several ladies in the line of his gaze who swooned or screamed. She knew who he was talking to, a slow smile spreading over her face. “I didn’t know you were back in Paris.” His grin widened as he took in the faces around her. “Wow, check it out Jules, looks like a bunch of old friends came to see us tonight. Awesome.” 

He tore his gaze away with effort, and looked up to the balcony. He couldn’t see faces up there as well, but he let his gaze rake across slowly before nodding. “All right. Now that we know each other, let’s get back to the music, shall we?”

The lighting crew recognized their cue, and the blinding lights were back as the stadium went dark. Luka stepped back from the mic for a moment to take a deep, centering breath, focusing on the vibrations of the stage that he could feel even through his heavy boots, the feel of his guitar in his hands, and the song he could still hear ringing in his mind even though he couldn’t see her anymore.

Then his fingers began to move, and he stepped back up to the mic.

* * *

They didn’t get to meet their friends that night, which was just as well as far as Luka was concerned. He wasn’t ever at his best right after a show, sweaty and sore and exhausted and he definitely didn’t want to see  _ her _ looking like he’d just been run over by his tour bus. But Rose--bless beautiful, sweet, romantic Rose--Rose had his back. When Juleka wasn’t looking, Rose slipped a piece of paper in his hand that had a phone number, a time, and the name of his favorite café. “I knew you’d be free in the morning,” she whispered. “I figured you wouldn’t mind missing out on the sleep.”

“You’re the best,” he whispered back, slipping the paper in his pocket as Rose glanced anxiously at Juleka.

Marinette was already waiting outside the next morning as he walked up, looking like she’d walked straight out of his dreams. She caught sight of him and smiled, turning to face him as his heart skipped a few beats.

He was a grown-ass man and a legitimate rock star, and that smile still did things to him. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Luka grinned, opening his arms. “It’s been a long time.”

“Hi Luka,” Marinette smiled, coming into his arms to hug him and then rising on her toes to exchange cheek kisses. “The show last night was great.”

“It was great to have you guys there,” Luka said, letting her go and opening the café door for her. “I have to admit, I’m getting kinda sick of big shows. I miss connecting with people the way I did when I was playing smaller venues.”

“The price of being a famous rock star,” she said as he pulled out a chair for her at his usual table.

“Not  _ that _ famous,” he protested, sitting down across from her.

“Pretty famous,” she grinned, leaning her elbows on the table to look up at him. 

He shrugged and grinned at the ground. “Yeah, okay, maybe.”

Marinette smiled. “I’m glad it hasn’t changed you, Luka.”

“So when did you get back in town?” Luka asked, ready to be done talking about himself. 

“Two nights ago.”

“And the first thing you did was come see my show? I’m flattered.”

“Really, I was lucky,” Marinette admitted. “The others got tickets ages ago, before I knew I would be here, but Mylene’s at that stage of pregnancy where she’s falling asleep all the time, so she gave me her ticket. I think Ivan was relieved, actually.” 

Luka picked up her hand. “Marinette, any time you want to come to a performance you know you just have to ask.”

“Says the man who’s changed his number four times in the last year,” she teased. 

Luka winced. “Yeah this whole fame thing really puts a crimp in my social life sometimes. I have a whole new appreciation for what Adrien went through in school. At least not that many people recognize me like this.” He gestured to his casual outfit, black jeans and a plain grey tshirt that were a far cry from his elaborate stage costumes and makeup. “Sometimes people recognize the hair and the ink but mostly I get left alone as long as I keep a low profile.” 

Marinette rested her chin on her hand and smiled up at him. “I like the hair. Must be cooler on stage this way, and it photographs better. Your eyes are too nice to be hidden all the time.”

“So my agent told me,” Luka sighed, running his hand over the short hair beneath the blue tinted locks falling from the top. “And you’re right, it is cooler. I like yours too,” he added, reaching out his free hand to tweak a loose strand on her shoulder. “You look good with it long. Anyway, I’m sorry about the phone thing. I’ll give you my assistant’s number before we leave, she can always put you through if I have to change it again. I don’t want to lose touch with you over something so stupid.” He realized suddenly that she was blushing, watching his thumb move over her fingers. Fortunately the waiter approached just at that moment, giving him an excuse to let go of her hand casually. 

Luka was a regular here and he chatted easily with the staff as they came and went with water and menus, but he had a hard time keeping his eyes off Marinette. Damn, after all this time she still affected him the same way, drawing him in like a magnet. Like him, she was dressed casually, in jeans and a fitted shirt with a wide neck that left a distracting amount of her freckled shoulders and collarbone bare. She was everything he remembered, just matured, mellowed,  _ more _ . He’d known in his gut that he was on a high-speed train to heartbreak the minute he’d locked eyes with her in the show.

“Tell me what you’ve been doing since you left,” Luka said as soon as the staff had left with their orders. 

“So many things,” Marinette breathed. “Luka, it was amazing, I learned so much and I got to see and do so much.”

“Tell me,” he murmured, leaning on the table, already entranced by her passion. God, he needed his guitar, he could write whole albums on the look in her eyes right now.

She brightened, pulling out a battered sketchbook. Luka moved his chair around the table to be next to her and propped his chin in his hand, letting her voice wash over him as she took him on a tour of her dreams.

“I’m not boring you, am I?” she asked suddenly, looking up at him with slightly wide eyes that reminded him of the nervous girl who’d walked into his room all those years ago.

“Not in the least,” he told her and he knew he must be giving her some kind of look because her blush spread down to her neckline. 

He was saved from doing something reckless by the arrival of their food. Clearing his throat, he moved back to his end of the table and asked about her parents. 

They talked about their families as they ate, the crazy things Anarka got up to that Luka had to bail her out of (sometimes with the police, once literally when there was a mishap on the boat), how Marinette’s parents had coped with her two-year absence, what their mutual friends had been up to. 

And she told him about the things that hadn’t been so great about her trip, the jet lag and the long hours, picking up from one city and moving on just when she’d finally gotten comfortable, the frustrations of frequently having conversations in English when it was neither conversant’s first language. 

“Every time I’d get depressed I’d feel ungrateful,” she told him, idly picking apart what was left of her food. “Like, so many people entered that competition and out of everyone they chose me to have this fantastic experience in all these different design houses, and there I was acting homesick and lonely. And...meeting so many new people made me realize how rare and precious my true friends are...and how maybe there were some I didn’t appreciate enough.” She glanced up at him through her lashes, biting her lip, and he swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say. 

Before he could, she pushed her plate away and abruptly changed the subject. “So, when are you going to put out another calendar?” She ginned.

Luka groaned and put his face down on the table. “Please tell me you didn’t see one of those.”

“Oh I very much did,” she laughed. “If I can find it once I’m unpacked maybe you’ll sign it for me. October was my favorite, though July was probably the most...hmm...inspiring.” She laughed as he put his arms over his head, partly to cover the brilliant red that he was sure covered his neck and ears. “Luka Couffaine, are you actually embarrassed?”

“Thoroughly,” he said from beneath his arms. Sighing, he forced himself to sit up, scrubbing at his face with his hands. “I try really hard to pretend that whole thing never happened, honestly. I felt like such a—“ He shook his head.

“Was it really awful?” She asked, her amusement turning to sympathy.

“I hated every minute of it,” he said bluntly. “I didn’t want to do it but a bunch of things happened at once right then and my family really needed the money. And I figured, better me than Juleka, who knows what they’d have wanted her to do and her fans are way scarier than mine.” He made a face. “Don’t tell her I said that, she’ll get all pissed at me for getting all big brothery on her.”

“I’m sorry, Luka, I didn’t know.” Marinette reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I won’t tease you about it anymore.”

“Thanks.” His mouth quirked up at the corner. “October, huh? That was the black and white one, right? That one wasn’t so bad. At least it was artistic. And I got to wear actual pants.”

Marinette giggled. “And you made them look good. It was a good picture. Sexy, but soulful. And with the guitar and the ripped jeans, it felt like I was seeing you, and not a stranger who kinda looked like you, you know.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “Honestly it wasn’t the pictures I minded so much, my agent kept the really embarrassing ones out of it and we made sure they were destroyed, just I could have lived without being treated like a doll without any feelings or dignity.” 

“Mmm, I see that a lot. A lot of designers and stylists stop seeing models as people. I guess knowing Adrien for so many years made it hard for me to think that way. The designers I was shadowing got really frustrated with me because of it.”

“Maybe I’m hopelessly optimistic but I think your way will pay off in the end.” He winked at her. “I can guarantee that if I ever have to do anything like that again, I’ll be calling you to be my stylist. If this tour weren't already under contract I’d hire you on the spot.” 

Marinette kicked him under the table. “You’re biased, Luka.”

“Always have been when it comes to you. Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

“Luka,” she began and then hesitated. He waited patiently, though curiosity was eating him alive as she licked her lips and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Listen I know you’re really busy and your schedule’s kind of crazy and it was already super nice of you to make time to have lunch with me—“ Luka had to cover the smile tugging at his lips with his hand at this very Marinette ramble. “But I was wondering, if you might want to have dinner with me, um...as a date.” She swallowed and looked up at him and he could not believe that she thought for one second he might actually say no.

“Hell yeah,” he grinned, reaching out to take her hand. “I mean I do have to check my schedule, but I’ll make time. I’ll call you? Probably not tonight, but no later than tomorrow evening, I promise.”

His phone alarm went off in his pocket before he’d even finished speaking, and he sighed, pulling it out.

“You have to go?” Marinette smiled crookedly.

“Yeah, I do,” he said, silencing the alarm and putting his phone away. He reached across the table and took her both hands in his. “It’s been great seeing you again Marinette. I’m so glad we’ve been able to catch up.” He kissed her hands as he stood up. “I’ll call you soon, okay?” 

“Was everything to your satisfaction, Mr. Couffaine?” 

Luka turned, grasping the hand offered by the suited man behind him. “Fantastic as always, Gerard, and how many times do I have to tell you to call me Luka?” Gerard smiled under his mustache but didn’t reply. “Please let the lady have whatever she’d like for dessert on my tab, okay?” 

“Of course, Mr. Couffaine.”

Luka rolled his eyes and smiled back at a Marinette one more time with a quick wave, her own smile warming him as he turned to go.

The minute the studio's car service picked him up, his phone was in his hand. “Lucille,” he said when his assistant picked up, hoping she couldn’t hear the idiotic grin on his face. “Yeah, I’m on my way, but have you got a few minutes? Can you run me through what my schedule looks like? I need you to free up an evening for me in the next week.”

It took more than a few minutes, and he had to cancel three meetings and move back a rehearsal, but he could not bring himself to care. 

Because when the one that got away suddenly walks back into your life and asks you out, who gives a crap about meetings?


	2. Second Chance at a First Date

“Luka, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go,” Marinette pouted when the chauffeur helped her into the car next to him. “I asked  _ you _ out, I should have planned the date.”

“I know,” he grinned. “But this way we have a chance of keeping at least this one date out of the tabloids.”

“I hardly ever see you in the tabloids,” Marinette remarked. “Why is that?”

Luka chuckled. “One of my friends from lycée works for a legitimate entertainment magazine, so I make sure all the news goes to him first and that heads off some of it, but honestly, for a rock star, I’m boring. Juleka and I wanted to retain as much control as possible over our brand, so I work a lot. I don’t drink or party, I don’t date all that much. I’m not really hard to find because I eat at the same places and work out at the same gym every day, so mostly they show up and take a few invasive pictures and then get bored and leave. I don’t get mobbed at the door everywhere I go unless there’s an album release or something big like that. The last time the tabloids really cared about me was when I was dating Clara.”

Marinette gasped. “That’s right, I forgot you dated Clara Nightingale!”

Luka ran a self-conscious hand through his hair. “Yeah, I can’t actually believe I had to guts to hit on her in the first place, but we were on the same tour and she’s so sweet, I’d developed this massive crush on her, and when you’ve been up for thirty-seven hours straight a lot of stupid things get said.” He blushed a bit at the memory, putting a hand to his forehead. “Man, I was so awkward, but she was really nice about it. She was even sweet when she dumped me, although I think we had both realized by then that neither of us were invested enough in the relationship to overcome the challenges once the tour was over. It’s bad enough trying to date with my schedule but you add hers into the mix and it was—” He shook his head. “We parted on good terms and we still keep in touch when we’re both in town, despite what the gossip rags tried to make it. When I didn’t spiral into drunken despair, they moved on pretty quick. Way more profitable to follow someone like Jagged who makes a scene everywhere he goes, or someone like XY that people love to hate.” 

“How inconsiderate of you not to go on a bender and be found in a ditch on the side of the road,” Marinette giggled.

“Very. I’m terrible for magazine sales.” Luka took her hand. “Anyway, I figured if we used the car service and went to a restaurant with a covered entrance we’d squeak by without ending up in the papers. I can’t guarantee that, though.” 

“I figured,” Marinette shrugged. “I kinda got used to it while I was with Adrien. I’ll get used to it again if I have to.” 

There were thrilling implications there he didn’t want to think about too hard just yet. “You look beautiful. Is that one of yours?”

“Thank you. It’s actually not,” Marinette admitted, looking down at her dress. “One of my friends made it for me a few months ago as part of a trade. It’s lovely, though, isn’t it? He did a great job. He’s going to be huge once his line debuts next summer, I’m sure of it.”

Luka smiled. “And when does your line debut?”

“Oh,” Marinette sighed, and made a face. “That’s kind of the hard thing about coming off of this internship. I’ve had two years where everything was sort of laid out and planned for me, and now I have to figure out what the next step is on my own. Although before even that, I have to put together a mini show and presentation for the awards committee to demonstrate what I’ve taken away from the experience. There will be a lot of really important people in the industry, I’m hoping to make an impression and see what opportunities develop from there.”

“That sounds like a lot of work.”

“It is,” Marinette shrugged, “But it’s worth it, and I’m certainly not lacking for inspiration material. I’ll get it done.”

“And you still made time to go out with me.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “I’m flattered.”

Marinette smiled at him. “Prioritizing is definitely something I’ve gotten better at while I was away.” She laced her fingers through his and darted a glance up through her lashes that hit him like a punch to the gut. “I missed you a lot while I was gone, Luka. I’m not about to miss you while we’re both right here.”

“Well,” he said, hoping his sudden inability to breathe wasn’t too obvious, “We’re in total agreement on that one.”

Luka was relieved that he managed to make it to their table without tripping over himself (Marinette wasn’t so lucky, but that was normal for her, and he was there to catch her). He rubbed his hand on his knee as he sat down, reassuring himself that he was in fact wearing pants, since he was getting increasingly worried he might be dreaming. 

Except if he were, wouldn’t he be dreaming about the sweet, stuttering, blushing, beautiful mess he remembered? Not this confident, flirty, undeniably hot woman.

He was in so much trouble.

“Thanks for taking me out, Luka,” Marinette said once they were settled. “Honestly I didn’t even know if you would want to see me after all this time, and...everything.” Marinette’s cheeks reddened, and Luka found himself relaxing at the familiar flush. “I probably owe you an apology for everything that happened back then.”

Luka shook his head. “You didn’t hurt me on purpose. We were all young, you were in love. I knew it; I think everyone did but Adrien.”

Marinette groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I’m still sorry. I could have handled it better. I could have handled  _ you _ better. Sometimes I want to die when I think about how I was back then.”

“Well, we all have some memories like that,” Luka chuckled. “I don’t hold any of it against you. How is Adrien?”

“He’s doing well. Things were hard for him for a while, especially right after we broke up, but he’s in a better place now. He...I don’t want to say too much or speak out of turn, but he’s had some long-standing issues and he’s finally seeing someone about them, and he’s made a lot of progress.”

“That’s good to hear, I’m glad he’s getting some help.” Luka glanced away. “The way he grew up would have messed up anybody. But I’m sorry it took losing you to make him realize he needed it.”

Marinette shrugged, and her smile was crooked. “I’d really rather not get into it.”

Luka winced. “Of course, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” 

Marinette shook her head. “It was messy for a while, but we’re both in good places now, both individually and in our friendship, so let’s just leave it at that.” 

“Right,” Luka agreed. “So tell me more about this presentation you have to do, it sounds interesting.”

“In a little bit,” Marinette smiled, leaning on the table towards him. “We talked so much about me last time, I want to hear more about you. Is being a rock star everything you dreamed it would be?”

“Yes and no,” Luka admitted. “It’s awesome, don’t get me wrong, and it blows me away how many people want to hear my music, but—hang on, let me think about how to say this right.” He frowned as he considered his words. “It’s great bringing my music to more people,” he said slowly. “I don’t regret anything and I’m so grateful. But…”

“Take your time,” Marinette encouraged, putting her hand over his on the table, and he flashed her a grateful smile.

“I miss the deeper connections, I guess. I miss looking in someone’s eyes and playing something that’s meaningful for just that person, or for just the two of us.” 

“Like the day we met,” Marinette agreed softly, and he nodded, smiling fondly at her.

“I don’t get to do that often any more, and I miss that.” _ _

“Can I ask you something?” Marinette said, cheeks tinting pink again. “That song you wrote the first year you hit it big…”

Luka didn’t even need her to finish. The whole album had been about moving on, letting go, and several of the singles had hit big, but he knew exactly which song she meant. “It was about you, yeah. I hope that doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“I cried when I heard it,” she admitted. “To this day, it’s the only one of your songs I can’t listen to.”

“I’m sorry. I kind of hoped you wouldn’t figure it out, but I should have known you would.”

Marinette shook her head. “Don’t be. Clearly it was something you needed to write, and I think it was something I needed to hear.”

Luka smiled. “So you listen to my music, huh?” 

“Of course I do,” she exclaimed. “I have every album you’ve released, physical and digital copies.”

“You’d do that even if you didn’t like it,” he teased, though he was touched.

“That’s true. But I do like it,” she leaned in, and the fingers covering his hand brushed over his knuckles in slow strokes. “I like the music, and I like the man who makes it.” 

“Careful, angel,” he told her, voice deepening slightly as thrills danced through him from her touch. “You’ll make me blush.”

“Luka, that voice is dangerous,” she laughed breathlessly, cheeks a bright pink.

“Mmm, so I’ve been told,” he grinned slyly, pleased to find he affected her. She’d had  _ him _ off balance since he’d laid eyes on her at the concert. “I think there was even a magazine vote about it once. But I think your eyes are what’s dangerous. I could get lost in them forever.” 

Once upon a time Marinette would have combusted on the spot, sputtering and stammering until she literally fell over. Tonight Marinette just blinked those beautiful eyes and asked softly, “Would that be so bad?”

Luka moved his hand to thread his fingers through hers. She remained solid in his grip. Still not a dream. “It sounds like heaven to me.”

* * *

Luka was feeling a little thunderstruck as he walked Marinette back up to Alya’s apartment, where she was staying for the time being. On the one hand, he’d been burned badly by Marinette once before, whether she’d intended to or not, and if she’d been fire then, she was something infinitely more dangerous now. On the other hand, she’d made her interest in him clear, and he wanted very much to explore what they could be together. The chemistry between them was as strong as it had always been, and just the way she’d been looking at him tonight was enough to make him feel weak. Add in the flirty banter and soft touches and he was perilously close to melting at her feet. 

The old saying about things that seem too good to be true was in his mind as she turned to face him outside the apartment door. Luka flattened one hand against the door and leaned in, keeping his hand in his coat pocket. Marinette raised her face to meet him and he pressed his mouth to hers softly. He felt her fingers tangle in the front of his shirt to pull him closer. He took her hands and detached them gently. 

“Next time,” he said softly into the space between them, and then he had to clear his throat. “Can there be a next time, Marinette?” 

“I’d like that,” she said, and then, more hesitantly, “You don’t have to hold back so much, you know. I’m not delicate.”

He took her hand in his and flattened her palm over his heart so she could feel how it pounded in his chest. “I know that, but right now, I am. My life already goes so fast I feel like I can hardly keep up. I’d really like to take things slow between us, if that’s okay.”

The smile she gave him was slow and soft. “Definitely.” 

“And part of it is that…” he paused, thinking over his words. “Sorry, it’s just I don’t want to say this wrong.”

“Take your time.”

“I still have a lot of past Marinette in my head,” he said, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “The girl I was in love with all through lycée.” Her breath caught and he gave her a moment to absorb that as he considered his next words. “I want us to get to know each other again, if that makes sense. I don’t want to be blinded to who you are now by a bunch of memories and unresolved feelings. I want be sure I’m really seeing you, and I want to make sure you’re really seeing me too. So...can we start like strangers?” He huffed in frustration. “No, that’s not what I mean, exactly…”

“It’s okay, I think I understand, and you’re right.” Marinette curled her hand lightly around his wrist. “I know I probably put you through a lot back then and I’m not trying to rush you into anything.”

“Marinette,” Luka said gently, “If we’re going to have anything in the here and now, you need to let that go.” He smiled. “I was never angry with you, and you don’t owe me anything. Clean slate, okay?” He bit his lip and looked away. “I’m not asking you for anything, but for my own peace of mind, I want you to know that I won’t be seeing anyone else, casually or otherwise, until we figure out what we want us to be.” He gave a lopsided grin. “I know that there are all these preconceptions that people have about rock stars, but I have to be honest, I’m not very good at casual anyway. Just not my thing, you know?”

“I wondered,” Marinette admitted. “It didn’t seem like you, but it’s like you said, about rock stars and you always look really hot on stage and—“ she buried her face in her hands. “And why haven’t you stopped me yet, oh my God…”

Luka lost his battle against laughter and he pulled her to him, hugging her even as she punched his arm. “Ow, you’re strong,” he laughed, squeezing her tight. 

“So are you, that was like punching a wall,” she said, her tone grumpy, but she slid her fingers down his arm with appreciation, leaving goosebumps in her wake even through his dress shirt.

“My personal trainer thanks you for the compliment,” Luka grinned, and then he sighed, loosening his arms and taking half a step back. “I’m supposed to be saying good night here before I get carried away.” 

Marinette slid her arms up around his neck, and the smirk she gave him nearly killed him on the spot. “It wouldn’t hurt to get a little carried away, would it?” 

Resistance crumbling, Luka let her pull him down into another kiss, fuller and deeper than before, taking a moment to really savor the feel and the taste of her and the way she moved against him, and then he pulled back and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight, Marinette. I can’t wait to see you again. I’ll call?”

“You better.”

* * *

Juleka was sitting on his couch when he got home with his guitar in her lap, playing  _ Seven Year Ache _ at half tempo with a morose expression.  _ Subtle as a funeral dirge,  _ he thought, rolling his eyes as he hung his keys on the rack by the door and took off his suit coat. “I’m gonna take my key back if you start waiting up for me every time I’m on a date,” he called.

Juleka took one look at his face when he walked into the living room and groaned, letting her head fall back. “I thought you were over this, you absolute idiot.”

“It was a lie,” he sighed, flopping on his back on the loveseat and propping his long legs on the arm. “I was never over it.”

“Luka, she wrecked you for years.”

“No, she didn’t,” he protested. “One, it wasn’t her fault, and two, I was fine.”

“You were heartbroken.”

“Heartbroken and  _ fine _ , Juleka.”

“Fine is not the same thing as happy,” Juleka snorted, folding her arms. 

“I’m happy now,” he replied, grinning at the ceiling like a loon. 

“You could at least string her along for a bit,” Juleka grumbled. “Make her suffer just a little.”

“She didn’t do anything wrong, Jule, cut her some slack.”

“I don’t need to, you give her plenty for both of us.” Juleka pursed her lips. “She picked someone else over you.”

“That was her right. I don’t hold it against her, why do you?”

“She hurt you.”

“Yeah, well that hurt went platinum, so I think you can forgive her now.” Luka scowled and tossed a throw pillow at her. “Considering we paid for these apartments with the money from that album.”

“There’s no amount of money that can make up for what she put you through,” Juleka groused.

“Come on Jule, she was your friend.”

“She was, until you went and fell in love with her like an  _ idiot _ and she broke your heart.” Juleka looked at him and rolled her eyes with a sigh that meant she was giving up. “But you’re obviously going to date her whether I think it’s a good idea or not, so I’ll save my breath.” She pushed off the couch and dumped his guitar on his stomach.

“I sure as hell am,” Luka agreed happily, and Juleka groaned as she opened the door to go back across the hall to her own apartment. 

“You’re disgusting, you know that right?” she called, and the door slammed before he could answer her.

Luka rolled his eyes and pulled the guitar into place, strumming lightly as he grinned at the ceiling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so not a poet, don't ask me to write Luka's song. Nothing bitter or mean, I was thinking along the lines of "I Would've Loved You Anyway," by Trisha Yearwood. Bittersweet, with a great guitar piece. 
> 
> (here's a youtube link if you don't know the song)  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojlVRCIvLDE


	3. Making Time

“You’re so gross,” Juleka muttered as she sat down next to Luka at the conference table.

“What?” he chuckled. 

“You have a ridiculous smile on your face and you’re humming.”

“So? I’m happy.”

“You have lipstick on your face.”

“Nice try,” Luka snorted. “I didn’t see her this morning. She’s really busy.” He leaned his head on his hand, the ridiculous smile returning as he doodled some music notes on his notebook.

“Oh, is she,” Juleka deadpanned. 

“Don’t be like that, Jule, we’ve both made time to see each other. I’ve got no complaints.” 

“That’s what you said last time. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been getting up early to see her. You’re going to wear yourself out, Luka.”

“It’s the only time I have to see her without rearranging my whole schedule.” Luka sighed, throwing his pen down on the conference table. “This is why Rose is my favorite, she’d think it was romantic. What do you want from me, Juleka?”

“I want you to not make an idiot out of yourself and get your heart broken again,” Juleka snapped. “Also to quit cancelling things and rearranging the schedule before you really piss us all off.”

“I’m a big boy, I can take it,” Luka shot back. “Why are you such a pessimist? Everything’s going great. We’re both busy but that’s on me as much as her. We’re making it work. I’ve never asked you guys to move stuff around before and it won’t be for long, just until I can get everything balanced again—”

“Which will never happen if you don’t tell Lucille why you’ve become such a flake.”

“—And there’s no Adrien this time. I will tell Lucille, just...not yet.”

“How sure are you that she’s over him?” Juleka looked at him with genuine concern and he resisted the urge to tell her to mind her own business.

“She broke up with him two years ago before she left on her internship and she’s had boyfriends since then.”

“You’ve had girlfriends since you supposedly moved on too.”

“Yes, but Marinette and I never actually dated, it’s not the same.” Luka sighed through his nose, trying to decide how much was okay to tell her. Not that he really knew the details. “It’s not my place to talk about why they broke up, but I know it was final. She’s gotten closure that I never had.” Luka glanced at the door a little nervously. “Can we drop this before the others get here? Marinette’s never been dishonest with me and I trust her. What happened before, it was just...bad luck and bad timing. Let it go.”

Juleka opened her mouth but closed it again as the door opened and Luka’s assistant Lucille walked in with several nervous looking young men and a young woman who looked positively starstruck. They had every right to be nervous. Luka and Juleka were notoriously picky about what they permitted to carry the Couffaine name, even in the interests of charity, especially after that  _ incident _ with Juleka’s former classmate. He tried to smile and put them at ease as he normally would, but his heart just wasn’t in it.

Luka felt guilty that he was having a hard time keeping his mind on the presentation. He jumped slightly as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out, intending to turn it off, when he saw Marinette was calling him. He really ought to decline the call and call her back...

“I’m so sorry, excuse me just one minute,” he said, getting up from his chair, equally ignoring Lucille’s surprise and Juleka’s eyeroll. He stepped outside the room and answered the phone. “Hey, Marinette, what’s up?”

“Luka, I’m desperate for some peace and quiet before I lose my mind,” Marinette said, and he could hear the strain in her voice. “Do you know of a closet somewhere I can lock myself in that won’t have other people stampeding through constantly? I’ve tried everywhere I can think of and I just can’t seem to get away from—from  _ people _ !”

“You can use my place,” he said immediately. “I’ll be out all day anyway. Make yourself at home.”

“But—“

“I’ll text you the address, and I’ll call the security desk and tell them to let you in. I won’t even be home until after seven at the earliest, so it’s no big deal.”

“I—but—Oh, thank you  _ so much _ , Luka,” she said, and he could hear the tears.

“Marinette, baby, don’t cry,” he said soothingly, “I’m happy to do it. You should have called me before you got so stressed out about it. Don’t feel like you have to be gone before I get home, okay? Take as much time as you need. And maybe take a nap while you’re at it, there’s a guest bedroom down the hall on the right. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” she sniffled. “I’ll be fine. I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I’m falling apart like this.”

“When was the last time you ate?” Luka asked. There was no answer. Luka rolled his eyes. “Have you at least had something to drink recently?”

“I had some coffee a couple of hours ago...” Marinette replied uncertainly.

Luka had to laugh, leaning against the wall and covering his mouth as he glanced at the door to the conference room.

“Hey! Quit laughing at me, Luka!” He could picture her pouting face.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just I’m usually on the other end of this conversation,” he chuckled. “Marinette, go find yourself something to eat, drink some water, and then go to my place and have a nap. Then you can get up and work in peace and quiet, okay? Juleka and Rose live across the hall, we have the whole top floor of the building to ourselves, so if you need anything, knock on their door. Juleka’s here with me but I think Rose is home today.” 

“You’re the best, Luka.”

“Anything for you, Marinette. Go take care of yourself so you can do your best work. My schedule’s packed today but I’ll check on you later if I can.” He hung up before she could protest, made a quick call to his building’s security team, and stepped back into the meeting, texting the address as he walked back to his seat. “I’m so sorry about that, what did I miss?”

When he got home that night it was almost eight, and the door opened on a smell that made his stomach growl.  _ Marinette _ , he thought, and noted the papers strewn all over his living room as he went toward the kitchen. Sure enough, he found Marinette there, taking some kind of casserole out of the oven. 

“Wow, something smells amazing,” Luka said, stopping at the entrance. 

“Lasagna,” she said, smiling at him as she put the dish on the stove. “It reheats well, so I figured if you didn’t get home until later it would still be good, but your timing is perfect.”

“You’re supposed to be working on your presentation, not cooking for me,” he chided gently, folding his arms. 

“I did work, and I got more done in the last few hours than I have in the last week. Now I’m taking a break to make dinner for the man who saved me from a nervous breakdown. Where are your plates?”

“Was it really that bad?” he asked sympathetically, opening the appropriate cabinet and handing Marinette two plates. “You’re eating with me, right? It’d be cruel to make me eat alone.”

“If you insist.”

“I do.”

“It really was that bad,” she sighed as she served. “Alya’s been great to let me stay with her, but she works from the apartment too, and there’s so many phone calls and deliveries and people coming and going, and it’s even worse at the bakery. I’m used to crowded work environments, so I’m not really sure why I’m having such a hard time, but I just can’t concentrate at all. I was so blocked, I couldn’t get anything done on the presentation outline, none of the design sketches were working, and I  _ have _ to get this all done by next week so that I can send it to the production line at  _ Gabriel _ . I  _ can’t  _ miss that deadline or the clothes won’t be ready in time for the show, not to mention how totally unprofessional it would look. I really think I would have lost it if I hadn’t called you. What do you want to drink?”

“Just water’s fine. You would have found a solution, you always do, but I’m glad I could help. You’re always welcome here,” Luka said, retrieving silverware and napkins. He gestured to the small table under the kitchen window. “You mind eating in here? I hardly ever use the dining room and I think the table in there is covered in paperwork right now.” 

“It is, and this is fine.” Marinette put the plates down on the small table. “I didn’t realize rock stars had so much paperwork.”

“It’s endless,” Luka groaned as he sat down. “Sometimes I wonder what I pay my lawyers for. Some of it’s because Juleka and I wanted to keep some control over what’s being signed off on in our names. It’s worse right now because they save up all this stuff for when we’re not on tour. So right now we’re cutting tracks for the next album, ironing out places and dates for the next tour, dealing with all the crap that came up during the last tour, plus pitches for products and events people want us to endorse. It’s a lot but I just can’t bring myself to hand it all over to my manager. I trust her, but I don’t know, apparently under this laid-back rocker exterior, there’s a real control freak.” He took a bite. “Wow, Marinette, this is great.”

“I’m glad you like it. I guess it probably doesn’t help that your first experience was with Bob Roth,” Marinette said sympathetically. 

“Got it in one,” Luka grimaced. “That was definitely a learning experience and I don’t ever want to be in that position again. Anyway, from the looks of my living room, you made it through your block.” 

Marinette winced. “Sorry about that, I’ll clean it up before I leave.”

“Why don’t you just leave it?” Luka shrugged. “Use my place as long as you need to, I don’t mind. I really only need the bedroom and the studio - that’s the room through the double doors off the living room. I’ll show you the spare bedroom before you leave, you can set up whatever you need in there and leave it as long as you want. Just try not to wake me up if you get here before noon, I tend to work late and sleep late.” Luka winked at her, but Marinette looked uncertain. 

“That’s awfully generous, Luka, are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Luka bent backwards in his chair and reached one long arm out for the drawer at the end of the counter. He rummaged blindly in it until he felt what he wanted, and then knocked it closed again. He put a keyring on the table between them. “Here, so you can just come and go as you please. There might be press, though,” he warned her. “We’re lucky right now because they’ve all been too obsessed with the XY cheating scandal to pay any attention to me, but that story’s not going to last forever and eventually someone’s going to notice us. They’ll say all sorts of things if you’re coming and going at all hours.”

Marinette shrugged. “Oh well. I am trying to get in your pants, so they won’t be stretching the truth too much.”

Luka choked on his lasagna, and Marinette nearly did too as she snorted and laughed hysterically. 

“You are so evil,” he muttered when he could breathe again, face bright red as he drained his entire glass of water.

“One of has to be,” she replied impishly.

“Speaking of evil,” Luka said once he could breathe normally again, “I need to talk to you about Juleka.”

“Juleka?” Marinette echoed with some surprise.

“Yeah. She’s...not super happy that I’m seeing you.”

“Oh,” Marinette said, guilt flooding her face. “I guess that’s to be expected, you two were always pretty protective of each other.”

“Well, she doesn’t get a say in this,” he said, motioning between them. “At the same time…”

“I’ll talk to her,” Marinette nodded. “I should have before now, actually. She’s been my friend for longer than you, after all.”

“I would like it if you two could clear the air,” Luka admitted. “I’d like you to be friends again, But don’t feel like you have to put up with any crap from her either.” He rolled his eyes. “You’ll have to tell me all about her version of the intentions speech, I’m sure it’ll be entertaining.” 

Marinette giggled. “I bet.”

Luka smiled. “Thanks for understanding, Marinette.”

They finished dinner and cleaned up together while Luka told Marinette about his day, and then Marinette cleaned off a space on the sofa where they could sit, and showed Luka some of the designs she’d been working on. He put his arm around her waist and she cuddled up to his side. 

Marinette put the designs down and leaned into him. They sat quietly for a minute before Marinette spoke again. “Luka?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you play for me? Like you used to. Like we talked about before? Just you and me.”

“I’d love to.”

He got up and went to his music studio. Luka reached for his sleek, custom painted, professional quality instrument, and then paused. Walking past the stand, he rummaged around for a moment and found a battered old case that held worn but well cared for black and white guitar. He took it from the case and ran his hand over it affectionately. A quick test showed that it was still in good condition, though terribly out of tune. It didn’t take him long to get it back in shape. Luka carried the old guitar back out to the living room and sat back down on the couch next to Marinette. 

He closed his eyes for a moment, listening, then started to play. Her breath caught and her eyes closed, hand lifting to her heart just as it had all those years ago. 

“It’s different,” she observed.

“We’re different,” he answered softly. The song that flowed from her heart to his hands was richer, fuller, and his ear and his fingers were quicker, more experienced, letting him catch and render subtleties that had eluded him before. His eyes closed again and he lost himself in it. 

Marinette slid closer to him, slipping partially behind him to drape herself over his back, and rested her chin on his shoulder. He turned his face to nuzzle her cheek, still playing, and she put her arms around his neck delicately, careful not to impede the motion of his arms.

“Beautiful,” she murmured.

“It’s you.”

He felt her smile rather than saw it. “I didn’t actually mean the song. I mean you, the way you play. I love watching you perform, but when you play like this, it’s just...different. I can watch your hands and—I don’t know, I’m not explaining well.”

“No, I know what you mean,” Luka said, keeping his voice low as well, “It’s more intimate this way. I’m not up on a stage. I’m not trying to create a reaction, I’m just playing along with you. I’m focused on you and no one else. God, I missed this, you have no idea how good it feels. I feel like I’m charging a battery I didn’t know was empty.”

“You’ve been lonely,” Marinette said sympathetically.

“I guess I have.” He nuzzled her cheek again. “Thanks for reaching out to me, Marinette. I’m so glad you’re here.”

She turned her face and kissed him, lightly at first but it lit an unexpected fire in him and he kissed her back fiercely, guitar strings twanging inelegantly as his focus abruptly shifted. Marinette laid her hand over his on the frets, stilling the fractured song. Her fingers slid over his knuckles as she moved to push the guitar lightly away. Luka obeyed the unspoken request, laying the guitar aside and turning more fully towards her, burying his fingers in her hair, tracing her jaw with his thumb.

“Luka,” she breathed just as he kissed her, and oh, he could drink his name from her lips forever—

_ I could drink my name from your lips forever... _

He tried, he really did, to ignore the music suddenly swelling in him, to put it away for later, but he couldn’t. With a slight whine in the back of his throat, he broke away from Marinette. “Sorry, I’m sorry, just a minute, I need—“ he turned and caught up a colored pencil she had left on the coffee table and flipped over the nearest drawing, scribbling on the back of the page.

“Luka, what are you doing?” Marinette cried. “I need that.”

“I’ll make a copy, I just need—“ he broke off, too distracted to finish as he counted beats in his head. Dimly he was aware of Marinette’s frustrated huff, and then of her resigned sigh as her warmth and weight settled against his side. 

“Do you want me to leave?” she asked.

“No! No, I just, I gotta get this down, it won’t take long I promise.”

Marinette giggled, and kissed his cheek. “Sure it won’t. Look, I’m going to head on back to Alya’s and get some sleep. Just don’t mess up any more of my sketches, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, um, there’s a notebook in the drawer of the end table there, can you grab it for me?” Luka drummed a rhythm pattern on his knee with his fingers, lips moving silently. 

“I’ll definitely be back in the morning,” Marinette said as she slipped the notebook under his hand, “but I’ll remember what you said about waking you up. Give me that please, those are expensive.” She tugged her colored pencil out of his hand and replaced it with the pen that had been in the notebook coil.”

“Sorry,” he tore himself out of the music long enough to look up and meet her kiss. “I’m really sorry about this, Marinette, I’ll—“

“Don’t say you’ll make it up to me,” she said sharply, and he blinked. She sighed and bent to kiss him again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. We’ll talk about it later, but I promise I understand. Thanks for helping me out today. Hopefully I’ll see you before you have to leave in the morning. Good night, Luka.”

“Do you want me to call you a car?”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Don’t get up, I’ll see myself out. Make your music, rock star.”

“Right,” he said, looking back down at the paper, already getting sucked back in. “Text and let me know you got home safe."

“I will. See you tomorrow, Luka.”

“I can’t believe this,” he sighed as the door shut behind her, raking his fingers through his hair. At the same time, he smiled at the paper in front of him. “This better be good,” he muttered, reaching for his guitar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm scheduled to have surgery on my foot on Friday and I don't know how it's going to affect updates. Either I'll have extra time to write and post because everyone will leave me alone to recuperate or I'll be drugged up and sleepy and get nothing done. I don't want to gross anybody out with details, but it's nothing super scary and it won't be a long recovery time. Just don't be surprised if there's an update gap. I actually split this chapter in two, so hopefully I'll get at least one more chapter out before then.
> 
> Edit: Surgery’s done, everything went fine, thanks for all the love and concern ❤️


	4. Pay the Piper

Luka groaned into his pillow as his alarm rang shrilly. He’d rather sleep for a few more hours, but he knew he had to get up. He hadn’t _ meant _ to stay up half the night working on a new song, just like he hadn’t _ meant _ to ditch his dream girl for it practically mid-makeout, but he had and now he had to get his ass out of bed and deal with the consequences. ** **  
** **

He managed to lever himself up enough to look at his phone and found that not only had he overslept, Lucille had texted and she was on her way over to talk to him. Which meant he really needed to get out of bed, like, now. He buried his face back into the pillow. ** **  
** **

There was a knock on his bedroom door. “Luka?” Marinette called uncertainly. “I know you didn’t want me to wake you, but that’s the third time your alarm has gone off. Are you okay?”** **  
** **

He smiled, and rolled over. “‘M fine,” he called roughly, and cleared his throat. “Just lazy. I’m getting up now. Lucille’s coming over, by the way.”** **  
** **

“Oh, sorry, I’ll move my things.”** **  
** **

“No, it’s good, we’ll use the studio for whatever she wants to talk about. Just let her in if she gets here before I’m out, please.”** **  
** **

“Okay, sure.” He heard her footsteps recede, and reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom.** **  
** **

Luka showered and dressed as quickly as he could, though his brain was still moving at half speed at best. He really needed coffee. He frowned as he opened the door of his bedroom. He recognized Lucille’s voice and brisk tone, but something bothered him about it. He walked out towards the living room, catching the tail end of his assistant’s cold, calculated speech.** **  
** **

“Mr. Couffaine is very busy, and I’m sure you both had a delightful time, but it’s time to go. I can call a cab to take you anywhere you need to be.” ** **  
** **

Luka suddenly realized exactly what conclusion she’d jumped to and what she’d thought she needed to do about it. As much as the words _ Juleka was right _ pained him, he maybe should have told Lucille about Marinette before now. ** **  
** **

“But I—” Marinette began in a small voice, and Luka snapped out of his morning stupor as if he’d been doused in cold water.** **  
** **

“_ Lucille. _ ” Luka’s voice was steel and both women cringed. Any other time he would have winced at the echoes in the small space from his too-loud reprimand, but at the moment he was _ pissed. _ Controlling his temper as best he could, he crossed the living room and took his assistant by the arm. ** **  
** **

“Please excuse us for a moment, Marinette,” he said, propelling Lucille back to the entryway. Marinette might still hear them, but at least he wouldn’t be tearing into his assistant in front of her.** **  
** **

He kept his voice low but hard as he spoke to her. “Lucille, you’re a fantastic assistant and I appreciate everything you do. I don’t want to lose you but if you _ ever _ speak to a guest in my house like that again I will fire you on the spot, are we clear?” ** **  
** **

“Y-y-yes sir,” she said breathlessly, eyes widening. “I’m sorry, I thought she was just—“** **  
** **

Luka cut her off. “Even if she was ‘just’ I wouldn’t tolerate it. Understand? I know other clients expected you to handle things for them but as _ my _ representative I expect you to treat everyone you meet with a minimum level of respect, especially when you are in _ my _ house.” ** **  
** **

“Of course, sir, you’re absolutely right,” Lucille whispered, looking at the floor. Luka put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. ** **  
** **

“Okay. Now stop calling me sir, it gives me hives. I’m sorry I didn’t think to tell you about Marinette, I’m not exactly at my best this morning. She’s been my friend for years and she needed a quiet place to work on a project, so I offered to let her work here this week whenever she needed to. Now go on in my studio, Lu, I’ll be with you in a few minutes and we can go over whatever you needed to talk about.”** **  
** **

Lucille nodded and fled back across the living room and through the double doors, closing them behind her. Luka sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, turning back to where Marinette still sat rigid on his couch. He went to her and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “I’m really sorry about that. Lucille’s worked with a couple other artists before me and she’s—“ He cleared his throat. “Well, let’s just say some of her previous clients bought in a little too hard to the rock star stereotype, and getting rid of one night stands was part of her job. I’m not what she’s used to, I don’t really have people over, and I guess when she found you here so early she jumped to conclusions. I’ve had all our dates blocked off my calendar as private so she didn’t realize I was seeing somebody. You, I mean, I’m just seeing you.”** **  
** **

Marinette relaxed slightly, and Luka tilted his head at her. “You didn’t—did you really think I would—“** **  
** **

“No!” Marinette flapped her hands wildly. “I mean—yes? Sort of? I mean I didn’t figure you were bringing random people home every night but you’re talented and famous and hot, and well, I thought...things happen?”** **  
** **

Luka took a deep breath and let it out slowly, not sure how he felt about that. “I mean, I’ve had a few relationships, but honestly, sex is too much work to bother with if it’s not with someone I care about. I just don’t care for one-night stands, and if I did I certainly wouldn’t delegate my assistant to kick them out afterwards.” His brow creased. “Honestly, I think I’m kind of offended that you think I would. It’s just not my style and I guess I assumed you would know that.” ** **  
** **

Marinette winced. “Of course I do. I’m sorry, I just—she caught me off guard and I—I’m really sorry, I’m stupid, of course you wouldn’t.” ** **  
** **

Luka sighed through his nose. “Lucille should be composed by now, I better go see what she wanted to talk about. Are you okay?”** **  
** **

“Yeah,” Marinette smiled at him. “I just wasn’t expecting that and she didn’t give me a chance to explain.”** **  
** **

“It’s my fault, I’ve kind of been keeping you to myself. Juleka told me I needed to tell her but I just...I don’t know, I wasn’t ready to share it with anyone yet. I’ll introduce you once she’s had a chance to calm down, she’s really got a good heart. I’m sure she’ll warm up to you when she’s done being embarrassed about the mistake.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll check in with you again before I leave for the day, okay?” ** **  
** **

Marinette nodded, and smiled at him, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “I made coffee if you want some. You look like you were up late.”** **  
** **

“You’re a goddess,” he sighed, leaning forward to rest his head on her shoulder for a moment. “Thanks for understanding, Marinette. About this morning, and last night.” He kissed her lightly and went to find the coffee.** **  
** **

He handed a cup to Lucille as he kicked the study doors shut behind him. “Sorry it’s a mess, I know we usually talk in the living room but Marinette has all her stuff in there and I don’t want to make her move. Have a seat.” He cleared off a stool in the small room for Lucille, but she didn’t sit down.** **  
** **

“I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions,” she said softly, looking into her coffee cup. “I should’ve known better, but...” She took a deep breath, and then continued quickly, “I wanted to talk to you today because you just seem awfully distracted lately. It’s not like you to be so spacey, and you’ve been cancelling things a lot, and now you’re suddenly bringing girls home and that’s not like you at all—“** **  
** **

“_ A _ girl. One.” Luka corrected, looking at her over the rim of his coffee cup. ** **  
** **

“It doesn’t matter,” Lucille waved him off. “I’m just saying, I’ve been worried. If you’re feeling overworked I can start spacing things out more. It won’t do any good to anyone if you burn out, and I’ve seen artists do some pretty crazy things when the strain starts to get to them. I don’t want that to be you.”** **  
** **

Luka smiled. “Thanks for worrying about me. I’m fine, Lu, really. Never been better, really, creatively or personally, but I would like to make some changes so I can have a little more time for a personal life if you catch my drift.” The look she gave him clearly said that she didn’t. “I’m—” He coughed and set his coffee down, suddenly inexplicably embarrassed. “Marinette and I, like I said, we’ve been friends for years, and since we’ve reconnected—well, we’re seeing each other and it’s only been a few weeks, but it could get serious pretty quickly. I’d like to have a little more time to spend with her before we go back on tour,” he finished, hating that he blushed like a schoolboy as he said it. He was a grown man, he ought to be able to admit he liked a girl without looking like a tomato.** **  
** **

“Oh.” Lucille frowned, and her stance shifted from the stiff posture she’d held since he came into something more like her normal air of slightly exasperated competence. “I wish you’d told me, Luka, it may be the off season but the press will catch on sooner rather than later and I need to be prepared. You should have told me you had a girlfriend right away. We need to agree on a response to any press questions, and we probably should get a security detail set up for her too.”** **  
** **

Luka frowned. “Do you think that’s necessary?”** **  
** **

“In my experience it is. One night stands and groupies are one thing but a steady girlfriend is a threat to the more extreme fans. And you’ve seen how little respect the press has for personal boundaries.”** **  
** **

Luka groaned and put his face in his hands. “I didn’t even think about that,” he muttered.** **  
** **

“Which is why you need to tell me these things,” Lucille said briskly, and despite her annoyance Luka’s shoulders relaxed, because just like that, they were back to normal. “It’s my job to think about it for you.”** **  
** **

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Sorry, Lu. Sorry for blowing up at you too. You’re right, I should have told you about Marinette earlier. I guess I was just…”** **  
** **

“Yeah, yeah,” Lucille rolled her eyes. “_ Artists _ . You’re disgusting when you fall in love. I can’t believe you’ve been blowing off your responsibilities to chase a girl.” Luka winced, but Lucille just grinned wickedly. “Thank God, I thought something was really wrong. You’re sensitive and the lifestyle will eat you alive if you let it.” Her expression softened slightly. “So please keep me informed. It’s my job to help you.” ** **  
** **

Luka smiled, then sighed and hung his head. “Okay, I get it. Thanks for worrying about me, Lu. I’ll introduce you properly, and we can talk about some of these things if Marinette has time. But first, tell me what you think about this.” He reached out for the notebook he’d left on top of the amp and handed it to her. He picked up his guitar, playing the melody he’d worked out last night.** **  
** **

“This is new?” Lucille said, adjusting her glasses as she examined his scribbled notes.** **  
** **

“Been working on it all night.” He played it again, this time singing the chorus from his notes along with it. Luka peeked up at Lucille and smiled. He’d worked with her long enough to recognize the repressed excitement in her face. “It’s not finished, obviously,” he added, “I’ve only got lyrics for the chorus and I haven’t even had time to run it by Rose yet. What do you think?”** **  
** **

“I think this isn’t quite enough to earn you forgiveness for ditching work to cozy up with your secret girlfriend,” Lucille said crisply, and then smiled. “But if you keep working on it, it could be.”** **  
** **

Luka chuckled. “I hope Marinette thinks so too,” he murmured, playing the melody again. 

* * *

“It was nice to meet you, Marinette, I’m sorry again for jumping to conclusions.” Lucille shook Marinette’s hand and then turned towards Luka. “We’ll discuss your schedule _ after _ your recording time today,” she told him firmly. “I’ll go get the car. If you’re not in the lobby in five minutes, I’ll make you regret it.” ** **  
** **

“Thanks Lucille, I’ll see you in a few,” Luka chuckled. He closed the door behind her and turned to Marinette. ** **  
** **

“Which one of you is the boss again?” Marinette giggled.** **  
** **

“Oh I’m the boss,” he grinned. “But Lucille’s the one in charge. Well, I guess I have to go. I hope I didn’t interrupt too much of your work time this morning.”** **  
** **

“I made enough progress yesterday that it’s okay, but I do need to get back to work myself,” Marinette said, tugging on the lapel of his jacket. “So you better make good use of those five minutes.”** **  
** **

Luka leaned in and kissed her, caressing her cheek with his thumb. “Will you stay for dinner tonight too? We can order in so you don’t have to spend time cooking.” ** **  
** **

“I’m spending dinner groveling for your sisters’ forgiveness,” Marinette wrinkled her nose at him playfully. “You’ll be all alone with your music tonight. I wouldn’t want to distract you.”** **  
** **

“You’re not a distraction, you’re an inspiration.” He kissed her again, and this time she returned it, leaning in and slipping her arms around his neck. “I won’t see you until tomorrow, then? You can always come by after dinner, you know I’ll be up.”** **  
** **

“Maybe, but I’m neither a rock star nor a vampire, so I’ll need to be getting back and getting some sleep.” Marinette sighed. “So kiss me like you mean it, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” ** **  
** **

“Like I mean it, huh?” Luka checked his phone. “Three minutes left,” he observed, winding his arms around her waist as he leaned in. “I can work with that.”** **  
** **

Two and a half minutes later he pulled back, smiling at the dazed expression she turned up at him. He kissed her cheek, made sure she was steady on her weak knees, and hightailed it to the elevator, grinning like a loon. ** **  
** **

He smiled again when he got home that night, even though Marinette wasn’t there. Her things were all over the place in the living room and kitchen. ** **  
** **

* * *

The first thing he did in the morning was brush his teeth. The second thing he did was to find Marinette, already working, chattering on the phone as she tapped a pencil on one of her sketchbooks. Luka leaned over the back of the couch and nuzzled her cheek, chuckling when she jumped and tried to shoo him away. He waited there until Marinette was off the phone, let her turn around and scold him, and then leaned in to kiss her over the back of the sofa. ** **  
** **

“Jerk,” she muttered, before getting up on her knees to face him and slide her arms around his neck. ** **  
** **

“I waited until you were off the phone,” he protested, sliding his hands up her back. “How’d it go with Jules last night?”** **  
** **

“It was tense at first,” she admitted. “We talked it out, aired a lot of really, really old feelings. We both made some apologies and...I think we’re good now.” ** **  
** **

“Good,” Luka sighed, slumping a little in relief. “Is she okay with us now?” ** **  
** **

“Mmm...I wouldn’t go so far as to say we have her blessing, exactly,” Marinette sighed. “Honestly I think she thinks I still don’t deserve a second chance with you. But I think she’s willing to wait and see what happens as long as you’re happy.” ** **  
** **

“I can live with that,” Luka smiled, squeezing her. “Thanks for talking to her, Marinette.” He tried to kiss her, but she put her hand over his mouth. ** **  
** **

“Oh no,” she told him. “Shave first. I have a strict no-stubble policy. I don’t enjoy kissing sandpaper.”** **  
** **

“Fair,” he chuckled against her hand. “It’s my day to go get yelled at by my trainer, so I’ll deal with all that when I get back. Then I can kiss you?”** **  
** **

“Luka,” she groaned, burying her face in his neck, “I’m _ working _ .” ** **  
** **

“You can still work after I kiss you.”** **  
** **

“Do you know how long it took me to get back to work after you left yesterday?” Marinette demanded, and there was nothing remotely like regret or apology in Luka’s grin. Marinette narrowed her eyes and got nose to nose with him. “Don’t get smug with me, Couffaine, we both know I can make things very hard for you and that might make your gym trip a little awkward.”** **  
** **

Luka laughed and dropped his face into her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you making jokes like that.” ** **  
** **

“Who’s joking?”** **  
** **

“Do you just want me for my body, Marinette?”** **  
** **

All the teasing went out of her expression and he had to swallow hard at the look in her eyes. “No,” she said softly, “I don’t just want you for your body, Luka.”** **  
** **

There was that feeling again, like a suddenly missing stair in the middle of a staircase he’d walked down a hundred times. Luka leaned his forehead against hers, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek. For a moment they just stood silent, breathing each other’s air. He kept expecting reality to set in, for something to tip him off that this fantasy world he was living in had to give way at some point. He kept expecting to feel the shock of the ground and instead he just kept falling.** **  
** **

The phone in his pocket shrilled, and Luka sighed, pulling away. “That’s my ‘quit staring into your coffee and move’ alarm, so I really need to go. I’ll be home afterward, Lucille blocked out my afternoon to work on new music, so I’ll see you when I get back.” He smiled, rubbing his thumb along her cheek. “I promise I’ll let you work, though.”** **  
** **

Marinette smiled and leaned precariously over the back of the couch to kiss his nose. “Bye Luka.” Then she turned around and flopped back down on the couch with a sigh. ** **  
** **

It was a great week. Marinette brought color and clutter and brightness back into his life, and it felt like home. At the same time, she was organized and considerate, careful not to let her chaos overflow into his working space. He felt her presence down to his bones; Marinette brought a creative energy he hadn’t felt since he and Juleka had moved off of their mother’s boat. Anarka wasn’t always the easiest person to live with, but she was an artist in her own way, and always had a frenetic creative drive that Luka hadn’t realized he’d been missing. Even away from home, he found himself jotting down song notes in the margins of his meeting agendas, and he took to carrying his guitar wherever he went, and every little gap in his schedule saw him sitting in some quiet corner, trying different chord progressions and muttering to himself. ** **  
** **

Seeing that he was caught up in a creative surge, Lucille worked some of her special kind of magic, swapping out some of his less urgent business meetings to work more composition time into his schedule. For him, that meant more time when he could just be at home and work while Marinette worked, testing out his melodies and watching through the open door of his studio as Marinette rehearsed her presentation or spun around the room with fabric samples to see how they moved, sometimes humming along with the melodies he kept playing over and over.** **  
** **

To his utter relief, Juleka stopped needling him, other than occasionally teasing him for his distraction. Neither Marinette nor Juleka would give him the details of what they had talked about, and Rose had just shrugged and shaken her head when he asked her. Marinette told him not to worry his pretty head about it, and Juleka was a lot less polite than either. Luka pouted a bit, just for appearances, but as long as his girls were getting along again, he didn’t much care about the details. He did buy Rose’s favorite chocolates as an apology for having to put up with Juleka’s grouchiness the past few weeks. ** **  
** **

When he showed Juleka what he’d been working on, she just smiled and gave him a few words of encouragement. “Your last passion project went platinum,” she told him, when he complained at the lack of feedback. “You don’t need me, just let it flow.”** **  
** **

It was true; for the first few years, he hadn’t had a lot of input on the songs he performed. The label brought him demos to pick and choose from, but it wasn’t until he had been producing hits on the regular that he was finally able to go to his producers with an album proposal and say, “This is what I want to do.” After that album, _ Regret Nothing _ , had been so successful (it had been voted best breakup album of the year by _ Teen Rock _ , which he’d found endlessly amusing since there was no actual breakup involved), he’d had a lot more creative control over the music he played. Anarka had, surprisingly enough, been his biggest collaborator on that album, and he’d spent several nights on the Liberty when it was in town, passing a guitar back and forth and talking through old feelings, both his and hers. ** **  
** **

It was a bit of a cold shock to come home one night to find Marinette’s things cleaned up, and Marinette herself sitting on the couch with a small carton of ice cream, looking triumphant. Luka hung his keys on the rack and his coat in the closet and came to sit beside her. ** **  
** **

“So, do I take it from the absence of paper all over my living room that some milestone has been reached?” ** **  
** **

“Yes,” Marinette declared, offering him a spoonful of ice cream, which he accepted. “I’ve gotten the hard part done over the last few days, all the writing and outlining and instructions, so starting on Monday I’ll be working with the team at Gabriel to actually start producing the looks for the presentation show. I hereby return your apartment to you.” She held up his key. “No more tiptoeing around your own home.”** **  
** **

Luka took the key and set it on the end table a little reluctantly. “I really didn’t mind it.” He stole the spoon and took another bite of her ice cream.** **  
** **

“Mmm, I know, because you’re awesome that way,” she said comfortably, leaning her head on his shoulder before snatching the spoon back. “You’ve been a lifesaver this week, I can’t thank you enough.”** **  
** **

“No thanks needed. I was happy to help. It actually felt really good, having someone else around. You know, growing up on the boat, not even having my own room really, you’d think I’d be glad for the space, but most of the time it feels empty. I liked having you here.” He liked it a lot, actually. He kind of hated the idea of her being gone. He put his arm around her and tugged her closer against him.** **  
** **

“I did too,” she admitted. “And I’ll probably drive Alya crazy humming all these half-finished songs you’ve been playing all week. Did you decide what to call that piece from this morning? That riff was killer.”** **  
** **

“Lightning on the water,” he told her. “Rose and I did some brainstorming earlier, I think I can work with it.” ** **  
** **

Marinette nodded thoughtfully. “That works, I can see it.” She giggled. “Was that a pun? Lightning? Brainstorming?”****  
****

Luka chuckled. “Unintentional, I promise.” He accepted another spoonful of ice cream, and asked, “So what happens now?”** **  
** **

“Now, I go to _ Gabriel _ on Monday and they’ll assign me a team and a workspace, and we make these happen.” She indicated her stack of sketches. ** **  
** **

“So you’ll be busy for a while, huh?”** **  
** **

“Yeah,” she sighed, setting the ice cream on the coffee table and turning to face him. “Yeah, I will be. I’m sorry.” ** **  
** **

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me.”** **  
** **

“Please don’t say that,” Marinete sighed, sitting back away from him and picking up the ice cream again. ** **  
** **

“I’m sorry,” Luka frowned. He reached for her, catching her hand and tugging lightly. “Is this something we need to talk about?”** **  
** **

“Probably,” Marinette said morosely. ** **  
** **

“I’m listening.”** **  
** **

Marinette took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “It’s...hard to explain. It’s not just one thing, but...I’m busy, Luka. I’m always going to be busy, it’s who I am.”** **  
** **

“Okay.”** **  
** **

“And the people that I dated before, they were busy too. And always there were sacrifices we had to make, things we had to cancel, just—other things we had to deal with. And one of us would always say ‘I’ll make it up to you’ and sometimes it happened and sometimes it didn’t, but...I just started to really hate it.” She looked up at Luka, face earnest. “Why do we have to keep this giant running ledger about who owes who? Things happen, things will always be happening, can’t we just...I don’t know, roll with it? I don’t want the stress of constantly figuring out just how big I screwed up and what would be an equivalent apology gesture, when really it wasn’t that I screwed up at all, life just happened like it always does.” ** **  
** **

She dug viciously into the ice cream, glancing up at him as he thought through what she was saying.** **  
** **

"Okay,” he said finally. “I...think I get it, sort of.”****  
****

Marinette sighed. “I can give you an example, but it’s going to involve Adrien, because it was the most obvious with him.” ** **  
** **

“That’s okay,” Luka shrugged. “Don’t feel like you’re not allowed to talk about that, Marinette.” ** **  
** **

She nodded. “Adrien’s dad booked him for a fashion show on my birthday,” Marinette began. “And I know Adrien tried to get out of it, but it just wasn’t optional in his father’s eyes. And it was fine, I was a little sad, but it really wasn’t any big deal. I told him we could celebrate my birthday some other day, just the two of us.” She sighed. “He swore up and down he would make it up to me and he would give me the best late birthday dinner anybody every had. And then he went completely overboard. Everything his romantic little heart could think of. He must have spent a fortune.” ** **  
** **

“And you hated it?”** **  
** **

“I didn’t_ hate _ it,” Marinette shrugged. “But I didn’t love it either. I didn’t enjoy it so much that I forgot that he wasn’t there on my actual birthday. So it...kind of seemed like a waste? And I felt horrible that he went to so much trouble and spent so much money and really all I could think was that I would much rather have had him singing happy birthday off key with my parents while they brought out a cake big enough for fifteen people in a room that only held six or seven. I mean, that’s the thing, right, we can’t ever get back those moments, and trying to make another moment twice as good to make up for it, it’s…” ** **  
** **

“Exhausting?” Luka suggested.** **  
** **

“Yes!” Marinette cried. “I mean, if he had done all that stuff for any other reason than because he felt guilty for missing my birthday, I would have enjoyed it way more.” ** **  
** **

“I get it,” Luka took the forgotten ice cream from her hand and set it back on the coffee table. “Come here.” Marinette looked at him, and then, a little reluctantly, slid over into his arms. “So if I’m hearing you right, what you really want me to say is, I accept that you’re going to be busy next week, and I can’t wait until we can be together again.” ** **  
** **

She smiled at him. “And I accept that sometimes you have to work when the inspiration comes, and I’m okay with waiting until you can devote your full attention to me, even though I might be disappointed in the moment.”** **  
** **

“Got it,” Luka smiled, flipping a strand of her hair. “Glad we’re clear.”** **  
** **

Marinette giggled. “So if I kiss you now, are you going to jump up and run off on me again?” she teased.** **  
** **

“No promises,” he grinned. “You’re awfully inspiring.”** **  
** **

“I try.” She nuzzled his neck and kissed it with her cold mouth, making him shiver. “Wasn’t exactly the kind of inspiration I was going for though.”** **  
** **

He sighed. “You’re going to kill me, you know that right?”** **  
** **

Marinette frowned and sat back on the couch. “Too much? I’m just teasing, I don’t mean to pressure you.” ** **  
** **

“I know. I can take it, as long as we’re clear that’s not where this is going tonight.” Luka smiled. “But that absolutely doesn’t mean I want you to leave. Come back over here and kiss me, Marinette.” ** **  
** **

She slid back into his arms and Luka gathered her to him, and despite her teasing, when she kissed him it was soft and tender and unhurried. There was passion in it, the press of her soft body did things to his, the trail of her fingers over his skin and the feel of her silken steel muscles under his hands made his heart pound and his breath catch, but the feelings that threatened to overwhelm him weren’t coming from his body. Luka tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her closer, deeper, and let her push him down onto the cushions. ** **  
** **

Marinette pulled back suddenly, and Luka blinked hazily up at her. “Are you okay?” she asked. ** **  
** **

“Yeah.” ** **  
** **

“You’re only using one hand.” ** **  
** **

Luka bit his lip, feeling heat creep up his neck. “I’ve been playing a lot this week and my left hand is pretty roughed up from the guitar,” he admitted, flexing the fingers that rested on her jeans over her hip. “I mean, the calluses are always there, but—anyway, some girls don’t like it.” ** **  
** **

“Well I do,” she whispered huskily, plucking his hand off her hip and placing it against her face. “Touch me, Luka.” ** **  
** **

He did, stroking her cheek and down her jaw, and then down her neck to her collarbone. She arched into his touch and he pulled her back down into another kiss, both hands roaming over her face and neck and shoulders this time. She nearly purred when he ran his callused fingers along the back of her neck, surging against his mouth before breaking away. “Those girls are stupid,” she muttered, giving him no time reply before her mouth was against his again. “You make music with those hands. Idiots.”** **  
** **

Luka laughed into their kiss, and she giggled back at him. He cupped her face in both hands, and for a moment they just looked at each other.** **  
** **

In the back of his mind, he knew he had to hit the ground sometime. He couldn’t fall forever. ****  
****

He could feel himself bracing for impact even as he kissed her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sort of. I'm recovering well but I'm still on pain meds which means I keep falling asleep at inopportune moments. My husband found me asleep in the bed with a mug of hot chocolate still in my hand the other day. So if there's anything weird in this chapter, I probably fell asleep in the middle of a paragraph and didn't catch it on the read through.


	5. Cold Feet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original chapter was getting super long so I'm splitting it, which means there will be two chapters after this one instead of one. Hopefully this means "Yay, more content!" and not "Geeze, learn how to edit!"

Luka played the chord progression again and sighed. Nothing was working. He put the guitar aside gently, resisting the urge to toss it across the room. He walked out of his studio and threw himself down on his living room couch, glowering at nothing. He checked the time. He had another hour and a half to himself before he had to head back to the studio, but he was making so little progress, maybe he should just go on in. ** **   
** **

He missed Marinette, Luka admitted to himself miserably. It was like having her here was a week-long high that he was coming down from. He’d  _ been _ down since her things had vanished from his home. Everything was exactly the way it had been. Plain. Boring. Why hadn’t he ever put any effort into decorating this place? Granted, he hadn’t had much in the way of stuff to bring with him when he moved in, and most of that went in the bedroom. Then he’d been touring, and it wasn’t like he ever had visitors. He lived in his bedroom and on his balcony, he worked in his home studio and at the dining room table.  ** **   
** **

He thought fondly of the cluttered chaos of the Liberty. It had only gotten worse since he and Juleka moved out. Without her children coming and going and bringing friends in and out, necessitating a minimum level of order simply so people could get around, Anarka was free to live her precepts to the fullest, and she did. His apartment décor might be minimalist even by normal standards but it was positively barren according to Anarka’s. Juleka’s place was a little better, but Juleka had more interests outside of music. Luka was pretty sure her collection of hair accessories alone would take up more boxes than everything he owned. And Juleka lived with Rose, so there were plants and flowers and unexplainable frilly things everywhere. Rose had given him some plants when they’d all moved in, but...well. Luka was frequently too distracted to remember to feed himself, let alone take care of plants. ** **   
** **

He suddenly remembered Marinette’s soft sympathy as she told him,  _ You’ve been lonely.  _ He’d answered,  _ I guess I have. _ ** **   
** **

Luka looked at his phone, considering. Anarka was somewhere on the Mediterranean out of touch by anything except satellite phone at the moment, and wouldn’t be back in Paris for another month. His old friends had lives of their own that didn’t include sleeping until noon and eating lunch at dinner time. He scrolled idly down his contacts and paused. Ivan worked construction and his hours were sometimes weird. He was a manager now, too, maybe he would have a few minutes to spare. If Ivan even cared to speak with him. Luka hadn’t exactly been in touch.  ** **   
** **

Luka took a deep breath, blew it out slowly, and his thumb moved and he raised the phone to his ear.  ** **   
** **

“Hey, Ivan, it’s Luka,” he said with a smile. “No, nothing’s wrong, I just wanted to catch up a bit. Got a few minutes for an old friend?” ** **   
** **

Really all he had to do was get Ivan rolling, and let him go on about Mylène and all the things they were doing to get ready for the baby. Luka could hear Ivan’s fear buzzing under his words.  ** **   
** **

“It’s scary, yeah?” Luka observed once there was a break in Ivan’s words. “It’s scary like all change is scary, and there’s no take backs on this one.” ** **   
** **

“I—yeah, it really is,” Ivan admitted. “We both really wanted this and now I’m scared shitless.”  ** **   
** **

“Anyone would be,” Luka agreed. “But you’ve got Mylène. She’s probably scared too. You can be scared together, and you can get brave together.” ** **   
** **

“She doesn’t act scared,” Ivan said begrudgingly. “She’s all plans and excitement and—“ ** **   
** **

“And keeping busy so you don’t figure out how terrified she is?” Luka chuckled. ** **   
** **

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “You think so?” ** **   
** **

“I don’t know,” Luka admitted. “I mean, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you guys and maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. But I know that she’s facing all the same things you are, plus all the craziness of actually carrying a child in her body. If she’s  _ not _ completely terrified, I’ll eat my guitar.”  ** **   
** **

“Yeah,” Ivan said slowly. “Yeah, I...shit, I’ve been so wrapped up in my own head that I never even questioned it.” He paused. “I gotta talk to her.” ** **   
** **

“Probably should. But Ivan, you and Mylène have so much love. I’m not worried about you. You love her and you love the baby and I truly believe you’ll be okay. You can’t play the whole song the first time you pick up an instrument, right? You’ve gotta break it down. You don’t have to be perfect on day one. You’ll learn as you go.” He chuckled. “I mean, if my mom could do it, you guys should be gold.” ** **   
** **

“Thanks, man. It sure is good to talk to you.” ** **   
** **

Luka smiled, touched. “I’m sorry I’ve been so out of touch. I’ll try to do better.” ** **   
** **

“No sweat, man, you’re living your dream. Speaking of which,” and Luka raised his eyebrows because he’d never heard Ivan sound  _ sly _ before, “I hear you’ve been spending a lot of time with Marinette.” ** **   
** **

“As much as either of us can spare,” Luka chuckled. “Which is not nearly as much as I’d like, honestly. She’s…” He paused. “She’s grown up a lot since I saw her last. We’re trying to take things slow and just...see what happens.” ** **   
** **

“Luka,” Ivan said flatly. “I know you love her. You’ve been in love with her since we were kids. What the hell are you waiting for?” ** **   
** **

Luka sighed heavily. “I don’t know, I...it just seems kind of crazy, doesn’t it? That she would just somehow show up out of the blue and suddenly I can have everything I ever wanted. It just...it sounds too good to be true. I keep looking for the catch. And that’s—it makes me feel like I’m not being fair to her, too.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know, this shit is just...complicated.” ** **   
** **

“Marinette  _ makes _ things complicated, it’s like her superpower or something,” Ivan snorted. “But I never thought you would be the one to get things all tangled up. Just let it flow and be happy, man.” ** **   
** **

Luka sighed. “I want to, I just…after last time...I mean I told her that I don’t hold it against her, and that was absolutely true, but it just...makes it difficult. Moment to moment, I’m so happy, I just—” He rubbed his hand over his face. “Damnit, I  _ just  _ got Juleka to lay off the gloom and doom, and now I’m doing it.” ** **   
** **

Ivan was silent for a moment, and then he said, “Maybe I should be the one asking you what you’re afraid of.” ** **   
** **

Luka lifted his eyes and stared at his empty living room.  _ This _ , he thought.  _ I’m afraid loving her and thinking she loves me back will change things so much that I’ll never be satisfied again when she leaves. _ “I’m afraid she doesn’t mean it,” he said quietly. “That whatever epiphany she had while she was away, whatever it was about seventeen-year-old me that she was missing won’t be enough for her to stay once she’s gotten closure on the what if.”  ** **   
** **

There was a shuffle on the other end of the line. “I mean, I guess that’s fair,” Ivan conceded. “So maybe it’s smart to keep things slow. At the same time, you know Marinette overthinks everything, and she cares about everybody. I don’t think she’d have approached you if she wasn’t pretty sure this was what she wanted. I mean, she has to know how badly it would hurt you if she couldn’t stick it out so...she must be pretty sure.” ** **   
** **

“I hope you’re right,” Luka sighed. “Most days I think so too. We’re...we’re really good together. It’s—” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “It’s just too damn perfect is what it is. I can’t possibly be this lucky.” ** **   
** **

“Now that sounds familiar,” Ivan chuckled. “I seem to remember you saying the same thing at the party we had to celebrate you signing with the label. Ugh, listen, man, I gotta get back to work,” Ivan said apologetically. “But—thanks for reaching out. And for the advice. Mylène’s putting together a gender reveal party, we’d love it if you and the girls could come.”  ** **   
** **

“Definitely,” Luka smiled. “Just text me the date as soon as you have it so I can make sure we stay free. Take care, Ivan. I’ll try to be in touch more often from now on.” ** **   
** **

“You too, Luka. See you around.”  ** **   
** **

Luka lowered the phone and sighed, but he was smiling. He still didn’t know what to do about the song, but at least he felt less alone. He tapped his phone on his knee and stood up. ** **   
** **

“All right, Couffaine,” he muttered. “Back to basics.” He went back into the studio, queued up a beat on his sound system, turned up his amp, and picked up his guitar. Forget trying to write, it was time to have some fun. He moved his body to the beat for a moment, and then started to riff.

* * *

When he finished at the recording studio that evening, he had a text from Juleka.  _ Marinette’s hanging out with us until you’re free, just come over when you get home. _ ** **   
** **

The sound of laughter greeted him when he walked into Juleka’s apartment and he had to smile. He found all three girls sitting around their dining room table. Juleka was laughing a full-body laugh that usually meant she was laughing at him. “And yeah, she was drunk,” Juleka choked out between giggles. “But the girl was  _ hot _ , I mean sex on legs. So she’s rubbing all over him and she got like, no reaction, he’s just looking at her and his face was bright red but with this bored expression, and so she says, ‘What, are you gay?’ and he said—he said—” Her face was turning red, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe, let alone finish the story.

“Whaaaaat?” Marinette whined, and Juleka just shook her head, laughing so hard she was silent. Rose was also laughing too hard to finish the story.

“I said, ‘Maybe I’m just not turned on by a complete and total lack of respect for personal boundaries.’” Luka supplied, leaning against the wall. “That got her to rear back enough for security to get a hold on her and they dragged her drunk ass off me and threw her out. Do I need to get you some oxygen, Jules?”

Marinette burst out laughing, and Juleka put her face on the table, still shaking with laughter. Rose, pink-cheeked and giggling, rubbed her back and encouraged her to breathe before she passed out. 

Luka watched the three of them laugh with a smile on his face and a stinging sensation behind his eyes.  _ I want this. I want to be able to have this forever. _ “I’m glad you guys think it’s funny,” he grumbled, trying to look put upon. “She smelled like a frat party.” He shuddered.

Marinette giggled.

Luka smiled and held out his hand. “Had enough of these two lunatics yet?” Marinette smiled and took his hand, and let him pull her up out of her seat.

Juleka raised her hand and waved, her head still down on the table, though she was finally breathing and not laughing. Rose did the same, still rubbing Juleka’s back. “Have a good night, you two!”

“I’m glad you came,” Luka said as they crossed the hall. “I know you’re probably tired.”

“I am, and I probably shouldn’t stay too late,” she said, as he opened the door, “but I wanted to see you. How’s the music going?”

He shot a soft smile back at her as he hung his keys back on the rack. “Pretty terrible, actually. I really wanted to see you too. You want to watch something? Or I could put some music on.”

“Music sounds good. Unless you want to play?”   


“I do not want to play,” he snorted. “The guitar is in time out after all the frustration today. Which is probably good, honestly, I was playing myself sore and getting nowhere.”

Marinette frowned as she watched him go to his sound system and start up a playlist. “Why so much trouble?”

“I don’t know,” he lied, and then sighed, collapsing on the couch. Marinette slid into his lap and he put his arms around her waist. “I mean...I sort of know,” he admitted. “I get these surges where everything really flows and then there’s always sort of a slump afterwards, so that might be it. Except this...doesn’t feel exactly the same.” He sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I’m trying really hard here not to admit that I missed you so much I was too depressed to write music, but there it is, I’m just that pathetic.”

Marinette giggled. “You’re not pathetic. I think it’s sweet.” 

“I don’t even know how to say it without sounding weird,” Luka sighed. “But it’s just...I don’t know, you just put out this creative energy and it’s easy to get caught up in.” 

"Mm.” Marinette looked slightly surprised and mildly amused, but not put off, and he relaxed a little. “Do you know why I came over tonight?” Marinette asked him, with a tenderness in her voice that he wasn’t prepared for, “Even though I really ought to be either working or sleeping?” Luka blinked at her. “You’re so steady and calm. It’s...I don’t know, grounding? I needed that today. I really needed it.” She shifted to put her head down on his shoulder. “I’ve always been surrounded by crazy energetic people. Nino can be chill, but he can also lose his chill spectacularly. The only people who’ve ever really given me this peaceful feeling are my mother, and you. I didn’t realize how badly I needed it until I was away from you both.” She sighed, but he could hear the smile in it, even if he couldn’t see it at the moment. “So if you’re pathetic, I guess so am I.”

“Marinette?”

“Hmm?” 

“You think, when your presentation is over...maybe you could help me redecorate?”

Marinette lifted her head, looked around at the room, white-walled, with the same white blinds and off-white curtains that had been here since he bought the place. “ _ Re _ decorate?” she said drily. 

He chuckled and squeezed her lightly. “Yeah, I never had the time or the taste to do much. It was fine before but...I think it could use a little color now.” He chuckled. “Maybe some of your energy will stay.”

“We can do that,” Marinette said, turning to look at him. “It’ll be fun. Now if only I could think of a way to carry your steadiness with me.” 

Luka grinned, and dug in his pocket, coming up with a smooth, flat, translucent blue stone. “Sea glass. I found it on a beach we were visiting, oh, I don’t even remember how many years ago. Bigger than what you usually find and kind of a rare color, so I kept it. I’ve carried it with me for years. I like the symbolism, I guess. Seaglass starts out as plain old broken glass, and it takes decades to wear the rough edges away and make it like this. This little rock has been going with the flow probably for longer than we’ve been alive.” He took Marinette’s hand and closed her fingers over the stone. 

“Luka, you don’t have to—“

“I want to,” he told her, dipping his head slightly to meet her eyes. “Whatever else happens, Marinette, I always want to be here for you when you need a calm place.” He cupped her cheek in his palm and kissed her softly. 

Marinette smiled. “Thank you, Luka.” She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. This time his sigh was shaky. 

Marinette tilted her head slightly. “What’s up, Luka? You seem...I don’t know, kind of emotional tonight.” 

“Yeah,” he said roughly, and cleared his throat. “Sorry.” 

“You don’t have to be sorry. Just tell me how I can help.”

“You are helping. Can you just...hold me for a while?”

Marinette moved away to tuck the sea glass stone in her purse, and then shifted their position so that his head was on her shoulder, and her were arms wrapped around him. One hand continued to slip through his hair. “You shouldn’t be so lonely, Luka. I know how much you love your family, but you need friends, too.”

“I’m figuring that out, I guess. I called Ivan today.”

“That’s good.” 

“Yeah,” he said, nuzzling into her neck. “It was good. I need to try harder. I need to be a better friend.”

Marinette pressed her lips into his forehead. “You just need a little balance in your life. I know getting started was hard, I know it took a lot of work to get to this point. But you’re successful, now. You don’t have to be working constantly. You can find a balance. You're good at that.” 

“Yeah?” Luka smiled against her skin. “What about you?”

“I’m still in the hard part,” Marinette sighed ruefully. “I still have a lot of work to do.” She nudged his temple with her nose. “But—and I don’t mean this to sound mean, Luka—I’ve managed to do it without isolating myself. I kept my old friends and I made new ones. And I know you feel awkward with new people, but you’re so kind and so warm and you have such a big heart. There’s no reason for you to feel so alone.” She hesitated. “And...I know from experience that I can’t be the only support in your life. I can’t stand being smothered.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“I know.” Marinette’s fingers moved down to stroke the short hair at the nape of his neck, and his eyes closed in pleasure. “I heard from Juleka how careful you are not to lean on her too hard. But burying yourself in work isn’t the right answer either.” 

“I get it,” Luka said softly. “You’re right. I didn’t realize how alone I felt until you were here. I’ll start reaching out more, I promise.” He cuddled closer to her and changed the subject. “Are you ready for the movie premier Thursday?” 

People were getting tired of the XY scandal and the reporters he’d been dreading were bound to start showing up sooner rather than later. Luka had an invitation to a movie premiere Thursday night, and it seemed like as good a time as any to go out and officially be seen with Marinette. After some discussion amongst the three of them, Lucille had put together a press release and Luka had sent it to his friend at the entertainment magazine, requesting that he hold onto it until Wednesday and promising him an interview in exchange. At least this way they could control when and how the news got out, and it meant they would be public before Marinette’s presentation to the internship committee. Marinette would just as soon have kept it under wraps until afterwards, but Luka and Lucille were both convinced their secret would get out on its own before then.

Marinette sighed. “I suppose.” She paused. “There was kind of something I wanted to talk to you about for that.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t want it to sound weird.”

Luka huffed a chuckle. “Then don’t make it weird. Just say it, Marinette.”

“Okay.” Marinette took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I want you to know I’m not going to wear my designs when we go out together.”

Luka blinked. “Okay.”

“Listen, I know that you know that I’m not after you for your fame,” she said earnestly. “You know that and I know that and Juleka and Rose know that, and whatever anybody else thinks isn’t important.”

“I’m with you so far.”

“But people are going to say it. Especially because of Adrien. They’re going to say I used him to get that internship and that I’m using you now to promote my business.”

“They probably will,” he agreed quietly. “But like you said, we all know it’s not true.”

“It isn’t, but it is,” Marinette shot back. “It’s not the reason why I want to be with you, but it is a side effect. People will pay attention to us when we’re out together.”

“They will. I don’t mind, Marinette. Your designs deserve all the attention they can get.”

“Well, I know it’s probably practical to think that way,” Marinette sighed, “but I just can’t. I don’t want those rumors to be even a little bit true. So, here’s what I’ve been thinking.”

“I’m listening.”

“I made a lot of friends while I was away, a lot of talented young designers who are amazing but who may not get a chance at exposure like this for years. I did a lot of trades. I’d rather wear something from one of them.”

“If that makes you happy, Marinette, I certainly don’t mind.”

Marinette chewed her lip. “You don’t think I’m being ridiculous?”

Luka shrugged, his face still against her neck, breathing in her perfume. “I don’t, but who cares if you are? It’s your body, your business, and your peace of mind. I’ll support any decision you want to make about those things.” 

Marinette sighed, laying her head on his. “You’re so sweet, Luka.”

“I may not have been a great student but I did pass being a decent human being with flying colors.” 

“I missed you so much today,” she murmured unexpectedly, sending a lightning thrill along his nerves. Her nails dragged lightly around his scalp and he muffled his moan in her neck. 

“I missed you too.” He turned his face slightly and dragged his tongue lightly along her pulse, enjoying the way she gasped.  ** **   
** **

“I thought you just wanted to cuddle,” she teased, fingers sliding up and down his arms. 

“I did. We did.” He nosed up her neck to press a kiss just under her jaw, and lowered his voice to something deep and warm. “I like cuddling.” Luka trailed soft, slow kisses along her jaw to her chin. “I like that we can talk about things together.” She moved to meet him as he kissed her mouth, softly and then deeper. “I like it when you hold me.” He kissed her again. “I like it when you touch my hair.” Luka rubbed his nose lightly along hers.“I just...like being close.” He kissed her again, trailing the fingers of his left hand along her cheek and down her neck, and Marinette arched into his touch. Her eyelids fluttered and then her blue eyes focused on him with all the warmth and want he could have wished for. “And I like when you look at me like that,” he whispered as her arms wound around his neck. Luka pressed close, sliding his hands up her back and wrapping her as tightly to him as he could. “Can I really have this?” he mumbled into her shoulder. “Are you really going to stay?” 

“What was that?” she asked breathlessly. He raised his head and kissed her long and slow.

“Nothing, baby. Just...tell me you missed me again.”

He kept her much later than either of them intended, lost in soft touches and deep kisses and a burning want that was growing harder to deny. It was tempting to ask her to stay, but her clear exhaustion and his unsettled mood kept the question behind his teeth. 

Luka went to bed alone. 

* * *

With the movie premiere date/announcement all planned out, and they were probably on their last few days of privacy now, and Luka hated that they couldn’t spend more of those days together. He had meetings with his record label all day, which always left him a little annoyed. Luka knew he ought to be grateful for their focus on the bottom line, because it kept him bringing in a paycheck, the kind of paycheck he could barely conceive of when he first started in this business, but their general lack of artistic vision and integrity always grated on him. He glanced at the time and wondered if she’d be finished soon. She’d been working a lot of late nights as the deadline loomed ever closer, and he knew she was annoyed to be losing time for the movie premiere at all. ** **   
** **

He should leave her alone, she was busy. She was working, like he was supposed to be working. It would be really, really lame to bother her just because he missed her.  ** **   
** **

Luka squeezed his phone in his hand. ** **   
** **

She probably wouldn’t even answer.  ** **   
** **

He called anyway, sighing at his own neediness.  ** **   
** **

She picked up almost immediately. “Hey, Luka, what’s up?”  ** **   
** **

“Hey,” he grinned broadly. “Just had a few minutes and wanted to check in. Are you busy?” ** **   
** **

“Swamped,” she sighed, and his heart sank. He could hear people and machines in the background and concluded she must be on the production floor. “There’s so many things to do and we’re starting to run short on time. Honestly, we might be here all night.”  ** **   
** **

“Have you eaten?” he asked, and sighed at the guilty pause. “Come on, Marinette, you know what’s going to happen if you don’t eat and hydrate. You’ll lose a lot of time if you pass out or break down.”  ** **   
** **

“I know, I know, I just—I didn’t plan for anything and I don’t have time—” ** **   
** **

“How about if I bring you dinner?” Luka asked, perking up at the idea. “I’ve got some time before I have to get back to the studio and I’m not getting anything done here. I could bring in dinner for your whole team if you want.” ** **   
** **

“Luka, that’s too much, you shouldn’t—I mean—well, I guess I could ask, but you have your own things to do and—” ** **   
** **

“Marinette, I’ll buy dinner for the whole damn building if it means I get to see you for a few minutes,” he said without thinking, and then coughed, embarrassed. “Seriously, it’s no big deal. You want to send me an email with what you want? Or you can just tell me how many people you’ve got there and I’ll call Lu, I’m sure she knows somewhere that would work.” ** **   
** **

“I hate to bother Lucille over something like this,” Marinette fretted. ** **   
** **

“She gets paid to put up with me bugging her for stupid things, and I don’t do it often, it’ll be fine,” Luka promised. “Just tell me how many people and if there’s any restrictions and I’ll pick it up and bring it over myself. I’d love to see you work, if that’s allowed.” ** **   
** **

“Mmmm, sort of? Normally you wouldn’t be allowed, but since this room is only working on my stuff and it’ll be after hours anyway, I can probably get you in. Let me know when you’ll be here and I’ll talk to security.” ** **   
** **

“I’ll text you,” he promised, and hung up, grinning. 

* * *

There she was. Like lightning on the water, a charge he felt tingling on his skin even from this distance, beautiful and dangerous and thrilling. 

Luka made a mental note to write that down later. 

The person she was speaking to spotted him and said something, and Marinette turned and lit up with a smile. She waved at him and signalled “one minute.” He raised one hand in acknowledgement and thanked the departing security guard who had escorted him in. Luka set the takeout bags carefully down on the floor at his feet, stuck his hands in his pockets, and waited, humming the bridge he’d been working on to himself. ** **   
** **

Everyone in the room had clearly taken advantage of the fact that they were here after hours. Shoes, jackets, and ties were discarded, collars were loosened. Marinette herself was gorgeously disheveled, padding towards him her stockings with her blouse untucked from her skirt and her hair piled haphazardly on top of her head and tied with what looked like a piece of scrap fabric.  ** **   
** **

“Holy shit that’s  _ Luka Couffaine _ ,” a voice hissed to his left, and Luka glanced that way.  ** **   
** **

“Oh God, he heard me,” one of the young men breathed. The wall behind the young man’s worktable was adorned with a large poster of Luka in full stage gear and makeup, which is to say, looking nothing like he currently did except for the tattoos on his bare arms and the blue tips of his hair. It took a pretty devoted fan to recognize him out of costume. Luka smiled to himself and turned back to Marinette.  ** **   
** **

His smile widened into a grin as she walked up to him. “Hey heartbreaker,” he greeted. “Hungry?” ** **   
** **

Her eyes travelled deliberately over him and heat crept up his neck. “Definitely.” ** **   
** **

“Jaques,” the young man hissed, “Jaques, _ Luka freaking Couffaine _ is blushing at my boss and I can’t deal.” ** **   
** **

Luka heard the sound of someone being smacked upside the head and bit his lip to keep the laughter in. “Interesting folks you have working here,” he said to Marinette as she rolled her eyes. “Think you could introduce me to my fan over there, or will he have a heart attack if I talk to him?” ** **   
** **

“He might,” Marinette giggled, waving a couple of people over to take the food from him. “But he’ll be too excited to stay dead for long.”  ** **   
** **

“You could have warned him.” ** **   
** **

She shrugged. “This is so much more entertaining. And to be honest, I kinda forgot.” Marinette made a face at him and he chuckled.  ** **   
** **

“I feel so appreciated,” he teased.  ** **   
** **

“I bet Francis would appreciate you,” she teased back.  ** **   
** **

“C’mon, introduce me before this gets weird,” he laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders. ** **   
** **

“Oh my God,” Francis gasped as they came his way. ** **   
** **

“Luka, this is Francis,” Marinette said cheerfully. “He’s a big fan of your work.”  ** **   
** **

“Hey, Francis,” Luka gave his most friendly smile and offered his hand. “I’m Luka.” Francis kept one hand over his mouth. The other shook as he grasped Luka’s. Luka squeezed his hand lightly, reassuring, and used his smoothest, mildest voice as he said, “Nice to meet you.” ** **   
** **

“Your music saved my life,” Francis whispered, and Luka’s expression softened from mild amusement to genuine concern as he covered their joined hands with his free one. ** **   
** **

“I’m glad it helped you,” Luka said warmly. “I hope you’re in a better place now.” ** **   
** **

“Yes. Yes, I am, but I...I’m serious, I wouldn’t have made it through that time in my life without you.” Francis flinched. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make it weird, it just—I never expected to meet you this way and why can’t I stop talking—” ** **   
** **

“Hey, it’s okay.” Luka moved his hand to Francis’ shoulder. “I’m just a regular guy who likes to play music. Thank you for listening to it. I’m glad my music could touch you, and I’m thrilled that it could help. Thank you for telling me, that was really brave, and it honestly means a lot to me.”  ** **   
** **

“You, um…” Francis’ eyes flicked over his shoulder to Marinette, who had retreated to deal with some issue or other. “You and Marinette, are you…like, together?” ** **   
** **

“Yeah, but…” Luka put a finger to his lips and winked. “Let’s keep that to ourselves for just a little bit longer, okay? I’d really appreciate it if that stayed off social media for a few more days.”  ** **   
** **

“Right, of course,” Francis said breathlessly, nodding a little too fast. “I got it.” ** **   
** **

“Well, thanks for being a fan, Francis, and thanks for helping Marinette out. I know she appreciates your hard work, and I appreciate getting her back in one piece and mostly sane at the end of the day. Do me a favor and take care of her for me, okay?” Luka glanced at the poster behind Francis. “I can sign that, if you like.”  ** **   
** **

Francis eyes went huge. “Oh my God yes please. Uh, pen, I need—” ** **   
** **

“It’s good,” Luka chuckled, reaching in his back pocket for the sharpie he kept there. “I hate disappointing people so I try to be prepared.” He signed the poster, choosing not to hear the frantically whispered conversation behind him that he was pretty sure was about his ass. Thankfully, Marinette was there with a plate of food when he turned around. ** **   
** **

“Are you eating with us, Luka?” she asked.  ** **   
** **

“I was hoping to,” he smiled at her. “But I don’t want to interrupt your work, I know you’re busy. I can go if I’ll be a distraction.”  ** **   
** **

“You can stay for a while,” she smiled up at him. “Unless Francis sews his finger to the garment or something.”  ** **   
** **

Luka flinched. “Ew.” ** **   
** **

“Sorry,” Marinette laughed at him. “Hazards of the trade. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Come on, I’ve got a work table over here that’s mostly clear, we can eat there.” He noticed the tension in her shoulders.  ** **   
** **

“How are things going?” he asked. ** **   
** **

“I have faith that we’ll get there,” Marinette said with less conviction than she probably intended. “It’s only my entire reputation and future career on the line after all.” Her hand came up to grasp a pendant on a black silk cord that hung around her neck. When she let go, he saw it was the blue sea glass stone he’d given her, wrapped artistically in silver wire.  ** **   
** **

Luka had missed having the stone in his pocket since he’d given it to her, but looking at her now, wearing it and taking comfort from it, having turned it into something practical and beautiful, made giving it up totally worth it. ** **   
** **

“You’ll make it,” Luka said with the confidence Marinette lacked. He caught the annoyed look she shot him as she fished out their food, and smiled. “I’m not patronizing,” he said, keeping his voice low. “You’ll make it. You might have to scale some things down, you might have to edit, but creativity and adaptability are your greatest strengths. Even if you do wind up having to change your original vision to make the deadline, you’ll come up with something fantastic. Maybe even better than what you planned.” He caught her hand and squeezed it before letting go. “There’s no shame in having to cut an idea and save it for later. I’ve done it, on songs that weren’t working or when I come up with a good line or riff that just doesn’t fit the melody. It’s a sign of maturity as an artist.” ** **   
** **

“That’s true,” Marinette said thoughtfully as they began to eat. “I’m much better at editing than I used to be. That’s—“ she paused. “I’ll be right back,” she said, and suddenly she was across the room like a shot, flipping through a stapled printout and scribbling notes.” ** **   
** **

Luka chuckled and continued eating. When Marinette returned he could see in her eyes that she wasn’t all there, so he stayed quiet other than quietly encouraging her to eat when her fork stopped moving. When she pushed her half-empty plate aside and stood up, there was purpose in her movements. ** **   
** **

“Huddle up real quick, team, I want to make some changes.” ** **   
** **

Luka watched her give orders to her team with both curiosity and admiration. Marinette wasn’t much older than anyone else in the room, clearly much younger than a couple of them, but she spoke with confidence and conviction. He’d seen her make motivational speeches before and she’d always been good at them, but that was class president good. This was take-the-fashion-world by storm good.  ** **   
** **

He had to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was stunning when she was in charge. He watched the faces around her go from worried to relieved to excited.  ** **   
** **

After she dismissed the team back to their work, Marinette did slow circles around the room, checking in, offering encouragement or correction, carrying things from table to table. She was competent, she was in control, and even stressed out of her mind and on a deadline she was  _ kind _ . She reminded people with still-full plates at their elbows to eat, she corrected mistakes gently. When people had questions, she was confident in her answers, even when it took her some time to come up with them. The place hummed with slightly manic energy and he could feel it seeping into him. ** **   
** **

_ I’m not going to get any sleep tonight, am I _ ? he thought as his fingers began to lightly tap out a beat on the tabletop. ** **   
** **

“Marinette,” Luka called softly as she passed him, and she turned. “Scratch paper?” She smiled and brought him paper and a pen. He hummed softly to himself as he made some notes, pen in one hand and fork in the other. The fork was quickly forgotten; several times in her rounds of the room Marinette nudged him to remind him to eat. Vaguely Luka made a mental note to talk to Lucille about setting up more collaborations. He was really thriving on just being near the energy of other creators. His head began to bob as he closed his eyes to listen to the bass line forming in his mind.


	6. Living in a Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some implied sexual content, but everything happens off screen.

Luka sat in his silent living room and tried to meditate. Here it was,  _ Marinette’s _ big night, and  _ Luka _ was nervous as hell. He cleared his mind and tried to convince his body that he was not the one going up on stage and so there was no need to get psyched up for it, but his body didn’t feel like listening. Luka had total faith in Marinette, but somehow he couldn’t quite seem to get rid of the feeling sparking under his skin. It was a relief when his personal stylist knocked on the door.

Tonight was one of the nights where he reaped the benefits of his rock star status. Nobody expected him to wear a damn tie, for one thing. Formal wear for him was black denim and leather with heavy boots instead of dress shoes, and just enough makeup and hair gel to make him recognizable to anyone who had seen his posters, without being as over the top as his stage look. It took a while, but the stylist’s chatter kept Luka from dwelling too badly on the anticipation. Luka examined the final effect as the stylist cleaned up his things, and was satisfied with the result. 

His sister was less so, when he crossed the hall to the girls’ apartment. “You’re so lucky Marinette is willing to be seen with you,” Juleka commented after looking him up and down. “You couldn’t wear a suit for one night?” Luka shrugged.

“At least I’m comfortable,” he pointed out. He did not point out that since  _ Gabriel _ was one of the two major sponsors, Adrien Agreste would undoubtedly be there and undoubtedly impeccably dressed, and to do the same would only be to invite comparisons. Better to keep his own style and be recognizable to fans and the press for tonight.

Juleka never had that problem. Her looks, and especially her eyes, were so striking as to be instantly memorable no matter what she wore, and she and Rose looked both matched and opposed in floor-length black and cocktail-length pink lace respectively, both with accents of pink and purple. They looked great and they both clearly felt it, and Luka smiled to see the signs of how much they were looking forward to the night. Rose was radiating delight, as usual, and there was an undefinable sparkle about Juleka despite her calm expression that told him she was just as hyped. “Are you ladies ready to go?” he asked, checking the time.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Rose squealed, bouncing. “I can’t wait!”

“Then let’s get going,” Luka laughed, holding the door open for them. “The car should already be downstairs.” He stopped in his tracks and rolled his eyes when they got downstairs and saw the car. “Really, Jules, the limo?”

“Special occasion,” Juleka shrugged.

“Yes, tonight is big!” Rose bounced at her side. “We need to be in style!” Juleka gave him a look of longsuffering and made a subtle hand gesture toward Rose, and Luka chuckled. Well, he couldn’t blame Juleka for humoring her, it was a big night, and as ostentatious as it made him feel, it was a small price to pay to make Rose happy.

Juleka eyed him once they were in the car. “What are you so nervous about?”

“I don’t know,” Luka admitted. “I feel like I’m the one going on stage, it’s weird.”

“Well, chill,” Juleka advised succinctly. “Don’t be weird and embarrass Marinette.”

“Juleka!” Rose scolded. “Don’t be mean! I think it’s sweet that Luka is nervous for her, it shows he cares.”

“You’re my favorite, Rose, you know that right?” Luka chuckled. 

“I know,” she chirped, smiling widely, “You can still say it though.” Then her face fell slightly. “Are you going to be okay, with, you know...I mean...Adrien will be there…”

Luka shrugged, trying not to show how apprehensive he was. “He’s always been my friend, even if we haven’t kept in touch much. We’ll see. I’ll just stay away from him if it gets too weird.”

The press outside the venue was unreal. Luka let out a small sigh as he looked out of the tinted window. Then he took a deep breath, pasted on a smile, and tried to remember his media coach’s advice as he got out of the car. He was mostly comfortable in front of the cameras by now but it would never be second nature for him the way it was for some people. He got out, gave the cameras a chance to do their thing, and then turned back to give Juleka and Rose a hand out of the car. The girls posed, arm in arm, and then he let them go ahead of him. There were a dozen or so reporters shouting at him, and he couldn’t hear the details of the questions, but the general theme was clear. Luka turned to them and his well-trained voice easily carried over them, smoothly and with confidence. “Marinette’s work speaks for itself,” he told them. “She doesn’t need me to get ahead, she’s incredible all on her own, and I think you’re all going to agree with me after tonight. Enjoy the show, guys, you’re watching a fashion legend in the making tonight.” Then he turned and followed his sisters into the venue.

They were directed to the cocktail reception, where he promptly lost Rose and Juleka to some of their old school friends he didn’t know. Luka ran into Alya and Nino, and chatted briefly until Alya’s questions began to get a little too personal. 

Just as he had managed to excuse himself on some flimsy excuse he barely remembered making, he heard a familiar voice call his name. Luka tensed and smiled at the same time.

“Adrien!” Luka turned and the two men fell into a backslapping hug. “It’s been too long. Can’t say I’ve missed your face, though.” Luka winked, slapping Adrien’s cheek lightly. He was still spread on billboards all over Paris.

“It has,” Adrien flashed a grin that was famous in at least three countries. “Can’t say I missed your voice, either. It’s good to hear it in person though, without risking hearing loss.”

“You sound like such an old man,” Luka laughed. 

“I’ll be an old man whose ears still work, which is more than I can say for you at the rate you’re going. So, you and Marinette, huh?” Adrien said, and though it came out easily Luka’s eyes widened at a sudden thought.

“Oh, shit, please tell me you didn’t find out from the papers,” he groaned. “I should’ve thought to call you.”

“No, it’s okay, Marinette called me before you guys went public. Really, I’m happy for you,” Adrien smiled. “Honestly,” he lowered his voice with a glance at all the people around them, though he kept the press-ready smile on his face. “I’ll probably never stop regretting that I didn’t listen to her about needing help before she got fed up and left, but I understand now that she did what she had to do. I thought I could get by with nobody but her, and I didn’t realize what a burden I was putting on her, and it wasn’t fair. I’m glad she left me before I broke her, and I’m glad she’s happy with you.” He squeezed Luka’s arm. “Don’t screw it up, okay? You don’t want to be the next one giving this speech. I’m pretty sure I’m only handling it this well because it’s you. I know you appreciate her the way you should.”

Luka also kept a smile on his face for the cameras, though his was less practiced than Adrien. “I’m sorry, man. I mean, I’m not sorry we’re together, but I’m sorry you both had to get hurt. Thanks for being cool about it.”

“Friends?” Adrien said, holding up his fist.

“Friends.” Luka met it with his own. 

“Let me just say,” Adrien grinned, not the press-ready smile but a genuine grin, “You are completely unprepared. I saw the rehearsals. I hope your heart is healthy, my friend.” 

“If it wasn’t, she’d have killed me by now. It’s been getting a workout the last few weeks, that’s for sure,” Luka chuckled, patting his chest. “She’s something else.”

“Yeah,” Adrien nodded. “But you knew that even before I did, didn’t you.”

Luka glanced at him and then away with a small shrug, and they fell into silence. Neither one of them was about to apologize for loving her. 

“You know we had to book a bigger venue because of you,” Adrien added, chuckling. “Once you two went public we got a ton of requests for invitations. Thanks for the boost, I guess. Makes it that much easier to fund the competition next year.” 

Luka shrugged and grinned. “That’ll make Marinette happy at least. She was kinda mad, honestly, she didn’t want to piggyback off my name, but I say she deserves every ounce of attention. And really, she doesn’t even know how much I owe her, for everything she did back when we were just getting started, and for all the songs she inspired. I wouldn’t have made it this big without her.”

“Have you told her that?”

Luka shook his head. “Haven’t found the right time. I’d have to set aside half a day to argue with her about how much credit she deserves, anyway, and neither of us have had that kind of time lately.” 

Adrien laughed. “True.”

“I hope she’s doing okay,” Luka muttered, forehead creasing slightly. “She’s been under so much pressure.”

Adrien glanced at him. “You want to go see her for a minute?”

Luka met his gaze with surprise. “Can we?”

Adrien scoffed. “I’m the owner of the contest’s primary sponsor, I can do whatever the hell I want. Come on.” Luka followed him through the crowd and past security to the backstage area. 

They met Tom and Sabine on their way out of the dressing room, bursting with pride and holding back tears. They stopped to hug both Adrien and Luka and went to find their seats. 

Adrien stopped at the door and raised a cautionary finger at Luka. “Don’t muss her up and don’t smear her makeup, there won’t be time to fix it.” Then he gestured Luka towards the door and turned back down the hall. 

Luka took a breath and knocked on the door. “It’s me, baby, can I come in?” 

“Luka! Yes, come in please.”

Luka opened the door and peered in, then stepped into the room. 

Marinette, dressed in a red gown of her own design, was pacing and wringing her hands. Her hair was piled elegantly on her head, her makeup was perfect, and she was shaking like a late autumn leaf. Before he could say anything she looked up at him with a bright smile that made his heart stutter, and he had to clear his throat. She looked so happy to see him. 

“Nervous, huh?” he asked when he was able. 

Marinette shrugged. “I’ll be fine when I get out there. It’s the waiting that gets to me.” She held out shaking hands to him. Luka crossed the small room and took her hands firmly in his, then pulled her as close as he dared and set his hands carefully on her waist. 

“You look beautiful.”

“Thanks. I always feel the most confident in red,” she told him with a nervous giggle. “Though I think the shakes kind of ruin the effect.” 

“What can I do?” he asked softly.

“You’re doing it,” Marinette told him, laying her hands on his chest. “I told you, didn’t I, I always feel calmer with you.” She giggled and patted his chest where her hands rested. “Although your heart’s beating almost as fast as mine.”

“I may be feeling a little second hand nervousness,” he admitted, “But only because I know how important this is to you.” He cupped her cheek lightly, mindful of Adrien’s warning, and looked her in the eyes. “You’re strong, you’re passionate, you’ve worked really hard and you’ve always been great under pressure. I have complete faith that you’re about to rock the fashion world to its foundations.” 

“So dramatic,” Marinette smiled up at him with gratitude and affection.

“Comes with the job,” Luka shrugged, and grinned back at her. “We’ll see though. You can do anything, Marinette, I’ve known that since we first met.”

“You’ve always had so much faith in me,” she said, and Luka’s eyes widened in alarm as her voice hitched and her eyes took on a glassy sheen. 

“Hey now, none of that before your big moment.” He reached around her and grabbed a tissue from the makeup counter, dabbing carefully at the corners of her eyes before the tears could drop and ruin her makeup. “What’s got you so worked up all of a sudden?”

“You’re just so good to me,” she sniffled. “I feel like I wasted so much time, Luka.”

“It wasn’t a waste, Marinette,” he told her tenderly, still catching her tears. “Maybe we could have done things differently, but who knows how that would have turned out? Where we are, right here, right now? It’s pretty great, honestly.” He kissed her ever so lightly, careful of her lipstick. “I’ve been so happy since you came back,” Luka told her, “And you’ve worked so hard for this. Don’t let the past sneak up on you and ruin your night. You go out there and kill it like I know you can.” 

Marinette leaned away from him enough to search his eyes. “I love you,” she said unexpectedly, and his eyebrows shot up and his throat closed and he stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “You don’t have to say it, I’m not pushing you, but I do. I love you so much, Luka. I think I always loved you a little bit, even back then, but since I’ve been back, since we’ve been together, it’s been—I know I have like, the worst timing ever, but I love you so much, Luka.” ** **   
** **

There was a knock on the door and Adrien called, “All right, lovebirds, it’s showtime.” Luka watched, still dumbfounded, as Marinette pulled herself together in an instant. She took the tissue from him and dabbing the last of the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and pasted on a smile that became considerably more genuine when Adrien opened the door and flashed her a grin. “Ready, Princess?” he said gently, and Marinette nodded, stepping out of the small dressing room without any trace of the tremors she’d had before. Adrien kissed her cheek and motioned to the man standing next to him with a clipboard and a headset. “Go for it, milady. Your public awaits.” Then he was ushering Luka out so that they could take their seats, and Luka let himself be dragged along numbly, heart still pounding in his ears. 

Juleka did a double-take and gave Luka a concerned look as soon as Adrien pushed him into the seat next to her. “Are you all right?” She touched Luka’s wrist and he jumped slightly.

“I’m fine,” he said faintly, digging his fingers into the armrest of the chair and trying to breathe normally.

“He’ll be fine,” Adrien echoed, waving dismissively as he sat down on Luka’s other side. “You remember when we were kids and Marinette used to spazz out all the time? She gets kind of emotional and says all kinds of crazy things when she’s about to do something big, it’s like a weird form of pre-emptive self-sabotage so she doesn’t screw up during the real deal. I don’t know what she said that broke him but it should be temporary.”

Juleka rolled her eyes. “You’re so lame, Luka.”

Luka just made an inarticulate noise as Rose reached across Juleka and patted his hand sympathetically. “You’re my favorite, Rose,” he mumbled absently, trying to steady his breathing and look at the stage.

A runway extended from the front, there were large screens on either side, and underneath one of them was a small podium. Luka focused on that podium, wondering nonsensically if Marinette would even be tall enough to see over it. ** **   
** **

She said she loved him. ** **   
** **

She never stopped surprising him.

Marinette had said a lot of things since they’d starting seeing each other, some teasing and some serious. She’d been clear that she wanted this relationship with him, that she wanted something lasting, but she had never said that she loved him before tonight. ** **   
** **

Now she had said it, and...he believed her. She had blurted it out in possibly the most Marinette way possible, terrible timing at all, and he believed she meant it.  ** **   
** **

It was never a question of whether he loved her. He’d loved her forever, he’d never really stopped, even when he thought there was no chance. Luka had spent all this time that they’d been together just...waiting. For the catch. For the other shoe to drop. ** **   
** **

For her to lose interest, he realized. Because Marinette was Marinette and she was meant for greater things in life than him. He hadn’t been enough for her back then and he was no different now, and no matter how much he loved her he just hadn’t quite been ready to believe that he could be enough for her now.  ** **   
** **

So he’d waited for the ground to rush up and meet him. Yet here he was, still falling, and suddenly he felt less like a stone and more like a feather.  ** **   
** **

She loved him. ** **   
** **

The lights dimmed and the stage brightened, and Marinette was ascending the podium. All traces of her nerves were gone as she gave the crowd a blinding smile, and began her presentation.  ** **   
** **

Marinette’s theme, it eventually became clear, was connections. She spoke about the connections she’d made with other designers, with culture and history of the places she’d visited, as well as the connections she found with the style and work habits of the various design houses she’d visited. The screens above her lit up with pictures of clothes and buildings, but most of all, with pictures of people. Smiling, laughing, grouped together in selfies and tourist type shots - the kinds of pictures you took with friends on vacation, not with coworkers on a business trip.  ** **   
** **

Luka smiled when she talked about the lessons she had learned about editing her work, and he thought she looked at him for just a moment, or at least in his direction, though from experience he knew it was unlikely she could even see him through the lights.  ** **   
** **

She was strong and confident and poised and articulate and so, so beautiful.  ** **   
** **

It hit Luka right then and there that he didn’t care anymore whether he hit the ground or not. There was no price he wouldn’t pay for even a moment with her. Whatever doubts he had left weren’t worth losing even another second with her. Wasn’t that spark of impulsive unpredictability part of what he had fallen in love with in the first place? If it killed him, so be it. He’d die happy and without regrets. ** **   
** **

He felt Adrien shaking with silent laughter beside him. “You should see your face right now,” the model whispered.  ** **   
** **

“Shut the hell up, Agreste,” Luka whispered back almost absently.  ** **   
** **

“And here I thought you had it bad when we were kids.” ** **   
** **

“Like you would have noticed at all back then if it wasn’t as obvious as a brick to the head.” ** **   
** **

Luka didn’t even hear Adrien’s retort as Marinette began her concluding speech. ** **   
** **

“The most important connections, however, are those that never leave us, the ones we carry in us from the beginning, that grow as we grow. Connections with our own roots, with the families who help shape us, with the friends who travel through life along with us, with those who love us and allow us to be our best selves. I’ve always been deeply inspired by the rich heritage passed down to me by both sides of my family as well as my deep love for the city of Paris where I grew up. I would never have made it this far without the overwhelming, unconditional support of my parents and the encouragement of my dearest friends. This collection is my love letter to you all, to Paris, and to all the friends I made on my journey. I owe a huge debt of thanks to the staff of  _ Gabriel _ who committed themselves to make my vision come to life despite long hours and difficult deadlines. Finally, members of the committee, you have my deep and enduring gratitude for allowing me this opportunity. Thank you.” ** **   
** **

Luka let out a shaky breath as he applauded with the rest of the crowd. He jumped slightly when his own music began to play over the speakers and Marinette’s runway show began.  _ Little devil could have warned me _ , he thought with a grin. Models stomped down the runway in time with the beat, and Luka shook his head slightly in amazement at the way Marinette had managed to make her sketches and notes come to life.  ** **   
** **

No, she never stopped surprising him, and he hoped she never would.  ** **   
** **

* * *

Marinette was nearly mobbed when she emerged into the after party. Luka hung back as her parents and her friends swarmed on her with hugs and congratulations. He waited while she greeted and thanked both Adrien and Audrey Bourgeois for their support and sponsorship. 

He kept his distance until there was an eddy in the flow of people around her, when he saw her put her hand to her chest and take a moment to breathe. Luka saw his chance and stole up behind her. “What’s up, danger?” he said quietly, and she whirled, her face lighting up with a smile that made his blood sing in his veins.

“Luka,” she breathed, and leaned into him with a sigh, the energy bursting out of her calming for a brief moment. He put his hands lightly on her waist and reveled in the way she seemed to draw comfort and steadiness from his presence.

“You were amazing up there,” he told her. “I’ll admit I didn’t understand more than half of it, but it was an absolute pleasure watching you own that stage like you were born to do it.”

“That’s quite a compliment coming from you,” she laughed, pulling back to look at him. Her eyes were glittering from the rush and he grinned, knowing exactly how she felt right now, the elation and the giddiness and the energy fizzing and bubbling beneath her skin. He could see her gaze flicker to his lips and back up. 

“Now you've got a taste for it, the fashion world better watch out.” Luka leaned down a bit. “You know what the best part of being a rock star is?” 

“What’s that?” She asked, her own smile growing.

“Getting away with stuff like this.”

Luka caught her around the waist and whirled her into a theatrical dip. “Come home with me tonight?” he whispered against her ear, holding the pose as camera clicks went off all around them. 

“Yes,” she whispered back, slipping her hand behind his neck as he kissed her. There were cheers and applause as Luka lifted her back up and set her on her feet, and one of those clapping hardest was a laughing Adrien Agreste. 

“You’re truly an amazing woman, I’m so impressed and I can’t wait to get you home,” he murmured, wiping a smudge of lipstick off her chin with his thumb. “But this is your night, so go do your thing. I’ll be waiting when you’re done. Go slay ‘em, gorgeous.” He kissed her temple and whispered, “I love you.” 

Her smile was blinding. She kissed his cheek and shot him a wink that was full of promise, and then walked away to work the room.

As Luka watched her go, Adrien stepped up beside him and silently handed him a cocktail napkin. “That color clashes with your eyeshadow, you know.” Adrien chided, clearly holding back laughter. 

“Worth it,” Luka grinned back, wiping Marinette’s lipstick from his mouth and cheek. ** **   
** **

* * *

Luka made sure to spend some time talking to Tom and Sabine, who were clearly exhausted and possibly a little delirious from the late hour. They were clearly running on some second-hand performance adrenaline or something, though, because they were bursting with pride and tripping over each other to gush about their daughter’s success. Luka tried not to laugh too much, and agreed to all their repeated requests for him to come to dinner. Really he was shamefully overdue in doing so, but they’d both been so busy up until now. Eventually Adrien appeared beside them to let Tom and Sabine know he had a car waiting to take them home. “I was starting to get worried they would just pass out in the hall somewhere,” he explained to Luka once they were gone. “Marinette told me they closed up early and slept in the afternoon to be ready, but I know they had to be dead on their feet.” ** **   
** **

Given the number of times Tom had repeated the same joke with increasing hilarity in the last fifteen minutes, Luka agreed that Adrien had made the right call. After that he drifted, made small talk with people who recognized him, and otherwise tried not to hover around Marinette too much as she did her thing. She was the star of the hour after all and highly in demand, and the reluctant businessman in Luka knew this was the best networking opportunity she was likely to get for sometime and she needed to work the momentum.  ** **   
** **

When Rose and Juleka came to find him, tired and ready to go home, he sent them to the car without him. “I’m going to stay until Marinette’s done,” he said, carefully ignoring both Juleka’s knowing look and Rose’s poorly concealed squeal. “Do me a favor and send the car back for me after you’re home.”  ** **   
** **

It was beginning to feel like the party was never going to end before Adrien finally went and extracted Marinette from the last persistent knot of admirers and escorted her to Luka’s side. They collected her things and went back to the waiting limo. They said very little on the way back to Luka’s apartment, sitting in the car with intertwined fingers, both needing the quiet after the crowds and excitement of the night. ** **   
** **

When they arrived, Luka excused himself to clean off his makeup and ditch his “formal” clothes in favor of old sweatpants, and then offered Marinette use of the bathroom and a t-shirt and another pair of sweats of his so she could do the same while he went and made them some tea.  ** **   
** **

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he set the mugs on the coffee table and sank down next to her, trying not to pay too much attention to the fact that she’d decided to forgo the pants and wore his shirt like a dress instead. “Tired, but wired?”  ** **   
** **

“That’s it exactly,” Marinette sighed, reaching for her tea. “I don’t think I could sleep right now if my life depended on it.” ** **   
** **

Luka hummed understanding, putting his arms around her. “I feel that way after shows sometimes. Other times I come home and nearly fall asleep in the shower.” ** **   
** **

“I like your tattoos,” she said, running her fingers down his bare arm, leaving goosebumps in her wake. “They suit you.” ** **   
** **

“I’d love to get some of your art on me someday.” ** **   
** **

“Do you have a favorite?”  ** **   
** **

Luka tapped the ring of names around his heart: Anarka, Juleka, Rose. “Not the most original, but the most important to me.” The circle wasn’t quite closed, leaving room for a fourth name, but it was dangerous to think about that right now as she touched him. The feel of her nails dragging lightly over his skin as she traced the names had his eyes closing in pleasure.  ** **   
** **

Then he felt her lips behind his ear and she hummed against his skin. He tilted his head, and she took the invitation, skimming her lips down his neck. Luka reached for her and pulled her into his lap, bringing her face even with his, instantly lost in her eyes. “You were incredible tonight,” he told her softly. “I used to see flashes of that, back when we were kids, but you got in your own way so often back then. Now you’ve grown into yourself and it shows. You’re amazing, Marinette.”  ** **   
** **

She traced his cheek with her fingertips, and he marveled at the softness in her blue eyes as she regarded him. “I love you, Luka,” she breathed. “I didn’t mean to say it tonight, but I meant it.” ** **   
** **

A slow smile spread over his face as he slipped his hand into her hair. “I’m glad you did. I’ve always loved you, Marinette. I loved you when you were a sweet stuttering mess and now…” He skimmed his other hand up and down her arm as he tried to find the words. God, she was strong, he loved the feel of her muscles under his hands. “This amazing woman you've become...I’m in awe.”  ** **   
** **

Marinette put her forehead down on his shoulder and Luka ran his fingers through her hair. “What I’m in awe of is how little you’ve changed,” she said. “You have every right to be proud of everything you’ve accomplished, and you’ve really grown as an artist, but underneath all this rock star packaging you’re still the same sweet, sensitive, humble boy who takes care of everyone around him.” She grinned, raising her head and shifting on his lap so she was straddling him. “And blushes when you compliment him,” she teased, running her thumb across his cheek. ** **   
** **

He pulled her down into a deep kiss that kept them silent for several minutes as he enjoyed the contrast between her soft lips against his and the hard muscle underneath his hands, the gentle way she touched him with the demanding way she kissed. When it broke they were both breathless. His voice was low when he murmured, “I can’t believe you’re really here with me.” ** **   
** **

“I’m here,” she breathed against his lips. “I’m here to stay, if you want me.” The words shot through him like lightning and he took a shaky breath. ** **   
** **

“I want you,” he rumbled, fingers curling in the shirt bunching around her thighs. ** **   
** **

“Then take me to bed, Luka.” ** **   
** **

They left the nearly full tea mugs cooling on the coffee table, completely forgotten. ** **   
** **

* * *

A couple of hours, a couple of showers, and a change of sheets later, an exhausted and deliriously happy Luka crawled into bed beside a sleepy and sated Marinette. ** **   
** **

“How are you feeling?” he asked, nuzzling into her shoulder. ** **   
** **

“Amazing,” she sighed. Luka grinned against her skin. He felt pretty damn amazing himself, loose and relaxed, more satisfied than he’d ever been, and so, so happy, his soul singing a bubbling refrain of  _ she loves me, she loves me, we’re in love, this is real _ . He ran his hand up and down Marinette’s arm and laced his fingers through hers.  ** **   
** **

“Anything you need?”  ** **   
** **

“No, just stay with me. This is perfect.” She snuggled back against him and pulled his arm over her waist. “Absolutely perfect.” She yawned and he kissed her temple. "Do you? Need anything, I mean?" she asked, valiantly struggling against sleep to ask the question. ** **   
** **

“I'm good. I love you,” he murmured. “Get some rest, sweetheart. You’ve had a long day.”

“I love you too,” she mumbled half into the pillow.  ** **   
** **

* * *

Luka woke first in the morning, much earlier than he normally would. He was used to keeping late hours and then sleeping late, but the vision that greeted him of blue-black hair spread across his pillow and a bare, freckled shoulder beyond energized him better than six cups of coffee. He took a deep breath, body thrumming with the echoes of the night before.  ** **   
** **

Luka ran light fingers over the dip and flare of her waist and hip and music flared in his mind. He bit his lip for a moment, torn between wanting to tempt her into making love again in the soft morning light, and the need for his guitar.  ** **   
** **

He warred with himself for a few moments, and finally he pushed himself out of the bed with a sigh and padded down the hall to his home studio. They’d both been tired even before they’d worn each other out last night, and there would be other mornings. He really needed to write this song. ** **   
** **

He had no idea how long he’d been there when Marinette appeared in the studio doorway, wearing his bathrobe. “There you are,” she said with a smile.  ** **   
** **

“Hey gorgeous.” Luka looked up and smiled back, flipping his hair out of his eyes as he looked up at her and enjoying the way she blushed at his husky tone.  ** **   
** **

“I wasn’t sure where you went,” she said, folding her arms. “I should have known.” ** **   
** **

“I didn’t want to wake you, but I couldn’t wait to get this down. Somehow I’m feeling very inspired this morning.” Marinette blushed again and looked away. Luka chuckled, finding her shyness adorable considering how forward she’d been up until now. He nodded towards the kitchen. “I haven’t made coffee yet but you know where it is, help yourself. Do you mind if I finish this? The bathtub in my room is huge, you could take a bath if you wanted. Make yourself at home.” ** **   
** **

Marinette smiled fondly. “Thank you. And thanks for last night.” She blushed as he smirked up at her. “Not just for—I mean everything else. Taking care of me. Running the shower and bringing me water and asking if I was okay...all that.” ** **   
** **

Luka blinked. “What the hell kind of guys have you been sleeping with that you think you need to thank me for that?” Marinette blushed deeply and Luka winced. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “Sorry, Marinette, I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to pry, I just mean...you deserve to be taken care of.” He took a breath. “You’re welcome, angel, of course. And...thank you, for being with me. And for waiting until I was ready, that means a lot to me.”  ** **   
** **

Marinette looked down, fiddling with the belt of the robe. She looked almost like the old Marinette in that moment, nervous and insecure. Luka cocked his head, observing her, and listened for a moment. ** **   
** **

Then he thought he understood what she didn’t want to ask.  ** **   
** **

He reached and pulled the plug of his headphones out if his amp. Then he locked eyes with her and played the song he’d been working on all morning. He watched as her face turned redder and redder. She bit her lip, coming closer, eyes darkening. ** **   
** **

“You know,” she said slowly, “I’m not sure I’m okay with you playing this for anyone else.” ** **   
** **

“Just for you and me.” He winked. “For now. We’ll see how you feel when it’s done. I’m not sure where it’s going to go just yet.” ** **   
** **

Marinette smiled back at him. “I can’t wait to find out.” She backed away reluctantly. “I’ll leave you to it. I think I’ll go take that bath if that’s okay.”  ** **   
** **

“Go ahead. Let me know if you need anything.”  ** **   
** **

Luka worked for a while longer before he need for coffee became too strong to ignore. He bounced out of his studio and headed for the kitchen, singing loudly. “The world just lost two lonely people, the world just lost two broken hearts, the odds were against it but baby here we are,” he sang as he got the coffee started.  ** **   
** **

He made it through a whole verse before he saw Marinette laughing at him from the entrance to the kitchen. “You’re in a good mood,” she giggled. Grinning, he caught her around the waist and swept her into a dance around the kitchen. “I live to love you, I’d die to keep you safe inside these arms that need you,” he sang, “I’ll be loving you with the very last breath I take.” He spun her away from him and let go, turning back to the coffee pot as he belted at the top of his considerable lungs, “And when they carve my stone, all they need to write on it is once lived a man who got all he ever wanted. Tell me something, who could ask for more,” he set a full mug of coffee next to Marinette, finishing the verse more tenderly, “than to be living in a moment you would die for.” ** **   
** **

“Your neighbors must hate you,” Marinette said, taking the coffee, but the look in her eyes was affectionate.  ** **   
** **

“Didn’t I tell you last night it didn’t matter how much noise we make?” he said silkily, leaning closer. “I had the flat soundproofed before I moved in.”  ** **   
** **

He was rewarded with the slow spread of a deep flush over her face. Luka grinned and kissed her. “I love you.”  ** **   
** **

“I love you too,” she breathed back. ** **   
** **

His hug lifted her off her feet and nearly crushed her. “I do actually have to go work today,” he sighed as he put her down. “I hate to run out on you, but Lucille might actually kill me if I cancel any more meetings. You’re welcome to stay—” ** **   
** **

“No, I have some plans in the afternoon,” Marinette smiled. “Since my presentation is over, Alya and I planned to relax and have a girls day.” ** **   
** **

Luka pouted. “I didn’t do a good enough job relaxing you?” ** **   
** **

“You certainly did,” she told him, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. “But I didn't know you were planning to do that, so I made other arrangements. ** **   
** **

“Fair, I suppose,” he sighed. “Honestly, neither did I,” Luka admitted. “But I don’t think I could have planned anything more perfect.” ** **   
** **

Marinette smiled, winding her arms around his waist. “I maybe would have worn different underwear if I’d known.” ** **   
** **

“I wouldn’t have noticed,” Luka admitted frankly. “It’s better you were comfortable for your presentation anyway. Maybe I don’t have any right to say this, since I didn’t have anything to do with it, but I’m so proud of you, Marinette.” ** **   
** **

She relaxed against him, laying her head on his shoulder. “Thanks Luka,” she whispered. ** **   
** **

He sighed. “I have to get moving, Lucille will be here any minute to pick me up.” He kissed her cheek. “Have fun on your girl’s day, you earned it. I always have my phone on, so if you need anything, or you just miss me, don’t hesitate. I’m never too busy for you, okay?” ** **   
** **

“You’re sweet, Luka.” Marinette nuzzled her nose against him. “Go on, I’ll be fine. Do I need to lock up or—” ** **   
** **

“Oh, right.” Luka reached around her to dig in the drawer and came up with his spare key. “Here.” He pressed it into her hand. “Keep it this time. If you just need somewhere quiet, or whatever. Whenever. Any reason. I love having you here.” ** **   
** **

Luka’s phone rang and he cursed. “I’ve really got to go.” He pressed one more quick kiss to her lips and then picked up the call. “I’m on my way down, Lu, be right there. See you in a minute.” He changed his mind and turned, kissing Marinette again. “I love you. Will I see you tonight?” ** **   
** **

“Not if Lucille murders you,” Marinette laughed, shoving him lightly. “Get going.” ** **   
** **

“Tell me something, who could ask for more,” Luka sang again as he obeyed, grabbing his keys from the rack by the door. “Than to be living in a moment you would die for.”  ** **   
** **

Marinette’s laughter followed him out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a big chunk of this chapter written a long time ago and I knew what I wanted to happen even longer than that, but now I've read it and tweaked it so many times that it's kind of lost a bit of its luster for me, so I really hope it has the impact I wanted. One chapter to go! Thanks for all your kind support as always. 
> 
> The song Luka sings in the last song is Living in a Moment by Ty Herndon. I know it's a country song but I figure Luka probably likes all kind of music, and it fits.


	7. Why Wait?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I say anything at all I'm going to ramble and I hate long author notes so - I maybe should have split this chapter but I didn't, so get comfy and I hope you enjoy. Hopefully it's clear in the text, but just in case, know Time Has Passed since the last chapter.

“Luka.” ** **   
** **

“Nngh.”  ** **   
** **

“Lukaaaa.” ** **   
** **

“Hnh?”  ** **   
** **

“Wake up so I can kiss you goodbye, you jerk.” ** **   
** **

“It’s the weekend, where are you even going?” he mumbled.  ** **   
** **

“Brunch with my parents. Are you sure you don’t want to come?” ** **   
** **

“Marinette,” he moaned. “Your parents are amazing, you’re amazing, you’re gorgeous, I’m so in love with you, but that concert last night killed me. I’ll beg their forgiveness later, but please, please, please just let me sleep.” ** **   
** **

He couldn’t see her pouting, but somehow he knew she was. Too tired to question whether one could  _ hear _ a pout, Luka raised up with only one eye open, pressed a kiss in the general vicinity of her mouth, and then buried his face in the pillow with a groan. Even so, he smiled as he felt her soft lips on his bare shoulder. ** **   
** **

“I love you too, vampire boyfriend,” she teased.  ** **   
** **

“Love you,” he muttered as he pulled the blanket over his head to hide his grin. He was too tired to be this happy, damnit. ** **   
** **

* * *

Having Marinette there when he woke was one of Luka’s favorite things about the weekend, so he may have done a little pouting himself when he dragged out of bed. Luka had tried adjusting his hours a bit to make more time with her, and had been moderately successful until his next round of scheduled performances, which quickly put him back on night owl hours. 

Still, they made it work, and the last few months had seen a great deal of improvement in Luka’s life, even with Marinette now working more standard hours. She’d declined to work with Adrien at Gabriel, and had negotiated a very favorable contract with another major design house, but she still had to work when everyone else was working. Luka had plenty to fill his time when she wasn’t around, especially with tour season quickly approaching, but he’d also taken Marinette’s advice and devoted more time to his personal life outside of her.

He’d started getting together with Ivan every few weeks, and he’d been drawn into Marinette’s circle of friends as well. Adrien has been by to see them a few times with minimal awkwardness. They’d had dinner several times with Alya and Nino, and as Nino also had a career in music that frequently meant he worked odd hours, he and Luka had struck up the beginnings of a friendship outside of their girls. Anarka was back in Paris, and she always had time to see him when he was bored or frustrated, or when he just wanted to get away from the reporters who’d been dogging him ever since his relationship went public. Luka secretly loved watching his mother tell off the paparazzi who had the audacity to set up around her boat, just before she cast off and left them on the bank as she sailed them out of reach, her booming laugh echoing across the water. 

He’d found more of a balance, just as Marinette had suggested, and Luka felt much better for it. Lucille took the dip in his efficiency in stride, even though it made managing his schedule more work. “You couldn’t keep the pace you were on forever,” she’d said briskly when he’d apologized. “It’s fine for you to be human, especially if it means you’re writing more songs.”

He was, he had almost a full album’s worth of tracks at least partially written, and the ones he’d demoed for the producers had been well received. At home, Marinette had helped him turn his apartment into something more personal and comfortable for them both. The windows now sported curtains Marinette had sewed herself, dark blue in his bedroom and cheerful red in the living room. There were throw pillows on the couch and leafy,  _ living _ plants here and there (Marinette promised to help him keep these alive). A knit blanket lay over the back of the couch whenever they weren’t wrapped in it. Framed prints of Luka’s album covers were artfully hung in the living room, and pictures of friends and family were scattered on the walls of the hallways and bedroom. 

Technically, Marinette didn’t live with him, but the distinction at this point was a fine one. His spare bedroom was littered with her projects. The clothes she wore most often were in his closet and dresser. Her cosmetics competed for space with his in the vanity and there was a neat row of sweet-smelling bottles with pictures of flowers and fruit on them lined up along his bathtub. His kitchen cabinets housed at least half her collection of mugs that she had picked up in the various places she had visited, most handmade or hand painted and all far more colorful than anything he owned.

Most importantly, Marinette slept in his bed almost every night, allowing them to take advantage of every mutually convenient moment in their very different schedules. Maybe he couldn’t wake up with her and maybe she was almost always asleep when he came to bed, but Lucille worked his schedule to keep their overlapping hours open, or at least booked with tasks he could do at home. 

Luka sank down on the couch, leaning back into the soft blanket, and tried really hard not to think about the tour starting in...crap, it was barely a month now. He sighed and let his head fall back with a little groan. He got homesick on tour at the best of times. It was going to be even harder now. He smiled at the ceiling. At least he’d have something really worth coming home to.

Luka perked up at the sound of a key in the door.

“You haven’t even gotten up the energy to make coffee yet?” Marinette teased when she saw him. “You really are tired. Fear not, your savior has arrived.” She waggled a large to go cup at him.

“God, I love you,” Luka sighed, reaching his arms toward her. She came to him and perched on his knee, kissed him, and offered him the coffee. 

“I have pastries too if you’re hungry.”

“Mm,” Luka took the coffee, but nuzzled into her neck. “I’d rather have woken up with you, but I’ll take it.”

“I gave you the chance to wake up with me and you begged me to let you sleep.”

“You know what I meant. How are your parents?”

“Same as always,” she smiled brightly. “How was the show? You were too wiped out when you got home to tell me. This was the benefit show for the children’s hospital, right? The one Rose works with?”

“Yeah. It was amazing,” Luka shook his head. “So much energy in the crowd, it felt fantastic. Pretty emotional, though, with the speakers and all, so I really just had nothing left when it was over.” He sighed. “Those people are amazing. There was so much strength—“ he stopped, choked up, and cleared his throat. “It was a lot,” he finished thickly.

Marinette kissed him softly, giving him a tender look, and then got off his lap, heading for the kitchen. “We can take it easy today if you want. Do you have to work?” 

“First weekend of the month is fan mail weekend,” he reminded her, accepting the plate and napkin she brought him. “So, yes, but I can work around whatever else we decide to do.” Marinette put the box of pastries on the coffee table near him, and then pulled out her sketchbook. She settled with her back against the arm of the couch and her feet in his lap. 

“I don’t mind. You know I think it’s great that you make time to answer your fan mail.”

_ How is this my life? _ Luka wondered as he selected a pastry and put it on his plate. It was good, it was comfortable, it was right, and Luka was suddenly struck by the thought that he never wanted it to end. 

Luka didn’t realize how he was staring at her until Marinette spoke. 

“What are you thinking about so hard?” Marinette asked him without looking up from her sketchbook.

“I want to marry you.”

Marinette straightened and set her pencil down to look at him. She didn’t whip her her head up and stare wide-eyed, which he took as a good sign, so he set his plate down on the coffee table and continued.

“I love you and there’s no doubt in my mind that you’re the one I want to be with. I want this—“ he motioned between them, “—all the time, forever. So I’d like to know how you feel about it. If it’s something you think you might want someday too.”

Marinette rapped a fingernail on her sketchbook. “Someday?”

“Or today.” Luka quipped with a shrug. “I’m sure we could make that happen.” He was mostly kidding, but his eyes widened slightly as Marinette frowned and pulled out her phone. He waited, a weird feeling curling in his stomach as she swiped and scrolled and chewed her lip. 

Then she looked up at him and his pulse shot up so rapidly that he nearly didn’t hear her over the pounding. 

“I’m sorry, can you say that again?” he managed. 

“I said I don’t think today will work, but we can do next Friday. I think everyone we’d need is free.”

Luka could barely breathe as he stared at her. “You want to get married next Friday?”

Marinette smirked at his expression. “Yep.”

Her smirk softened at the smile that bloomed on his face. Luka leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “Who are you and what have you done with Marinette queen-of-overthinking Dupain-Cheng?”

She mimicked his pose, leaning in until her nose was nearly brushing his. “She doesn’t live here anymore. Meet the new resident, Marinette not-stupid-enough-to-miss-her-second-chance Couffaine.” 

He nearly tackled her in his enthusiasm to kiss her. Marinette shoved him off, laughing. “We don’t have time for kissing, we’ve got phone calls to make.”

“Right.” He whipped out his phone. “Lucille! Hey, listen, Marinette and I are getting married next Friday. Call her in an hour and whatever she wants, you make it happen. If you get stuck on anything, call Penny. In fact, call Penny anyway and tell her she and Jagged are invited.”

“Oh,” Lucille said blankly, and then “Oh! Yes, okay. Um, budget?”

“Break the bank, I don’t care. Just don’t kill anyone, don’t get anyone fired, and try not to make too many threats. Okay?” He grinned at Marinette, who had her own phone to her ear but still heard enough to wrinkle her nose at him.

“You take all the fun out of everything.” Lucille drawled.

“You’re the best, Lu, I’ll call you later and check in.”

“How much does she hate me?” Marinette asked in a whisper, holding her own phone at arm’s length while Alya screamed. 

“She wasn’t even phased. She lives for stuff like this.” Luka grinned. “It’s good for her resume. And I’ve been so low maintenance that I’ve earned a few outrageous demands.” He kissed her temple. “I’ve gotta go.” 

“What? Where are you going?” 

“Gonna grab Juleka and go find a ring.”

“What? Luka, you don’t have to do that, it’s barely two weeks, I don’t need a ring.”

He leaned in and kissed her, caressing her face tenderly. “I’m gonna do it anyway. Unless you want to come pick it out?”

“No,” Marinette said faintly, “No, whatever you pick is fine, just—don’t go overboard.”

He kissed her again. “Okay. But when Lucille calls, you tell her what you want and don’t worry about the money.” Another kiss, and Luka giggled against her lips. “I’ve never been able to say that before. I want you to have the wedding of your dreams even if it is on short notice.”

“Isn’t there anything  _ you _ want?” Marinette asked, looking concerned.

“I want you, Marinette,” he breathed, and then grinned. “I want to dance with you. I want my guitar and an amp handy. I’d really like to not wear a tie, I hate those things. But mostly I just want you there and as happy as you can possibly be. Everything else is negotiable.”

“Oh my God, girl,” Alya screeched over the phone. “I take back everything I just said, marry that boy pronto.”

Luka laughed. “Hi Alya! Bye Alya!” He kissed Marinette one more time, grabbed his jacket, headed out of his door and straight over to Juleka’s, and pounded a little more forcefully than was probably necessary. Rose opened the door, looking surprised. 

“Luka, what's going on? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, Rose,” he said, smiling like his face would split. He leaned past her and hollered, “Jules! Get decent and get out here, I need to go buy Marinette a ring and you’re coming with me.”

Rose squealed, covering her mouth with her hands. Luka winked at her. “You’re welcome to come too, Rose.”

“That’s amazing Luka, I’m so happy for you!” She threw her arms around his neck. “Oh! Have you planned how you’re going to ask her?”

“Already did. We’re getting married next Friday.” His brow furrowed. “Shit, I better call Maman.” ** **   
** **

Rose just gaped at him with her mouth open. Then she screeched and ran back into the apartment, screaming for Juleka. Luka chuckled and stepped inside, shutting the door. He pulled out his phone and called his mother. Anarka sounded simultaneously exasperated and delighted, but she promised to be there and that was all Luka cared about. By the time he was off the phone with her, Juleka had emerged, dressed in nondescript black without her usual lace accents, her hair pulled back in a knot that hid most of the color and her purple tipped bangs tucked under a hat. She said nothing, just wrapped her arms around him. He folded around her and returned the hug. When they separated, she reached up and smacked the back of his head, then walked out the door without looking back to see if he and Rose were following. ** **   
** **

“The press is going to be all over you,” Juleka mumbled as they got in the car. “They’ve been staking out the building ever since that premier. They’re going to follow us.” ** **   
** **

Luka made a face. “Yeah, I know. I’m hoping we can make it look like we’re shopping for you, but if they do, they do. Lucille will have to find a way to keep them off my back.” ** **   
** **

“With the tour about to kick off, they’re going to say it’s a publicity stunt,” Juleka persisted, looking sideways at him. ** **   
** **

“I don’t care what they say, never have.” ** **   
** **

“They’ll probably dig up whatever they can about Marinette. Probably your old girlfriends, too.” ** **   
** **

Luka shrugged. “Everyone has a past, it doesn’t matter. As long as none of them show up at the wedding I couldn’t care less.” ** **   
** **

“Marinette might care.” ** **   
** **

“I’ll talk to her about it when we get home.” He hesitated. “Although I guess we didn’t really talk about—” he stopped and pulled out his phone. ** **   
** **

Marinette picked up immediately. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied, unable to help smiling at the sound of her voice. “Listen, before I do this I just wanna make sure, you know the press is going to get wind of this right? Even if I manage to cover up what I’m doing, something is bound to leak if we do this in a hurry.”

“I suppose you’re right, but at least they’ll only have a couple weeks to freak out. Better than planning a wedding for months under that kind of scrutiny.”

“You’re right. We should probably just make a statement,” Luka mused. “I’ll talk to Lucille about putting one out once you’ve talked to everyone you need to. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything because the second I walk into a jewelry store, there are going to be rumors, even if we try to make it look like we’re shopping for Juleka.”

“I told you you didn’t have to.”

“You’re not cheating me out of getting to do this just because you’re impatient,” Luka told her, laughing. 

“I didn’t expect you to be so traditional,” Marinette giggled. 

“I’m not,” Luka chuckled. “Keep the traditions that make you happy, throw the rest out, I don’t care. But this one makes me happy, so I’m doing it and you can’t stop me. I mean, I guess you could decide not to wear it, I’d survive. But I still want to pick one out and give it to you. If you don’t want to wear it I guess we could frame it and hang it on the wall or something.”

Marinette’s laugh was rich and full and brought a dopey grin to his face that he knew he would catch hell for later. “I’ll wear it,” she giggled. “I will. Whatever makes you happy, Luka.”

“You make me happy,” he told her, ignoring his companions as Juleka made gagging noises and Rose shushed her, giggling. ** **   
** **

* * *

When Luka got home carrying a tiny pretentious bag full of fancy tissue paper, he found Marinette waiting on him with a strange looking box on the coffee table and a “we need to talk” expression. His excitement turned to ice in his stomach and he came into the room a little warily. “Hey. Something up?” 

Marinette smiled tightly. “Nothing disastrous. Just a conversation we need to have before we go through with this whole thing. I figured we’d better do it now before we let Lucille loose on Paris.”

Luka frowned. “Okay. You know, I’m ready any time, but I can wait, we don’t have to rush into this if you’re not—”

“I am,” Marinette interrupted him. “But I need to make sure you are too, and that can’t be true until we’ve talked about this. Come sit down.” She patted the couch next to her.

Luka sat, eyeing the box on the table. “Please tell me these aren’t the ashes of your enemies. That would be a little creepy.”

Marinette laughed and patted his hand. “Not hardly.” Marinette leaned forward and did something to the box. A series of compartments opened seemingly on their own, revealing...jewelry? He glanced at her, still puzzled, until she lifted a familiar green bracelet from the box and his eyes widened.

It had been nearly seven years since the defeat of Hawkmoth—not a terribly long time in the span of global history, but Luka found now that trying to remember those days was like trying to remember a dream. The bracelet Marinette held was the one point of clarity. Luka remembered what it was and what it did, but had a hard time remembering why it mattered.

“The Miraculous magic,” Marinette told him matter-of-factly, watching his expressions shift. “It doesn’t actually erase anything that happened, or any record of it happening, it just makes it hard to think about. If you tried hard enough, and long enough, you would still remember everything.You’d just be easily distracted and constantly wondering what the point is of trying to remember. It’s been a real blessing for people whose akumatizations were especially difficult, and even more so for Adrien.”

Luka blinked at her for a moment, and then gasped. “Adrien’s father was Hawkmoth.” 

Marinette nodded, and then shrugged. “Thanks to the magic, people forget. Or rather, as I said, they just don’t think about it. He hasn’t faced nearly as much persecution as he would have otherwise. Here, it’ll be easier to have this discussion once I give you this.”

She put the bracelet in his hand and he was nearly blinded by a flash of blue-green light. The slight fog in his mind cleared instantly, the clarity suddenly flooding back into his thoughts. Luka remembered everything now. He blinked away tears from the light and the rush of memories and stared into familiar yellow eyes. “Sass,” he breathed.

“Ssssalutationsss, Luka,” the snake kwami smiled, showing his tiny fangs. “My how you’ve grown. Humansss change ssso quickly.” He put his flipper hands on Luka’s finger. “It isss good to sssee you, my friend.” 

“Luka Couffaine,” Marinette intoned quietly. “I present to you the Miraculous of the snake, which gives the power of Second Chance. You will use it for the greater good, and for the protection of the Miracle Box and its Guardian.” She smiled and shrugged. “That would be me.” 

Luka looked up from the bracelet in his hand. “Thank you, Ladybug.”

Marinette’s smile widened. “You knew the whole time, didn’t you?” 

“I guessed,” he admitted. “I wasn’t ever totally sure, but I figured it was safer that way.” He rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know how I’d forgotten until now.”

Marinette raised her hands slightly. “Magic.” 

“Right.” Luka shook his head. “Weird.” He slid the bracelet over his arm, watching in mild surprise as it flashed and turned into a silver band decorated with Celtic knotwork. “It’s different,” he observed.

“The disssguise adaptsss,” Sass agreed. “You are different now, so the disssguise isss different.”

“Huh. That design, though, it’s almost as if—.” Luka reached into the little bag full of tissue paper he’d left at his feet, and pulled out a small box. Marinette’s eyes widened, and, regaining some of his earlier enthusiasm, Luka felt a goofy, lovesick smile spread over his face as he opened the little box, and held the wrist bearing the snake Miraculous up next to the ring. The little platinum ring had a repeating Celtic knot pattern around the band and a small but beautiful channel-set sapphire in the center. The Miraculous bore a similar knot pattern repeating across the bracelet.

“Oh,” Marinette gasped lightly. Luka took the ring out of the box and took Marinette’s hand. 

“May I?” he asked tenderly, and she beamed at him. 

“Yes.”

Luka slid the ring on her finger. “I thought you would prefer something flat.” He grinned at her. “See, I’m not as traditional as you think. I liked it so much that I had them reserve the matching wedding bands for us, but you don’t like them, we can go pick something else together.”

“It’s perfect, I love it,” Marinette breathed, smiling up at him. “And this is a good thing,” she added, picking up his arm to look at the bracelet, and then holding her own hand next to it to compare it to her ring. “Since it matches, if anyone asks, it was my engagement gift to you. That gives you an excuse to always have it on you.” She smiled. “It’s sort of true, anyway.”

“Sort of true?”

“Well, like I said, I figured I needed to talk to you about this before we really went through with things,” Marinette sighed. “And Tikki and I agreed that if we’re going to make a home and a family together, you should be protected, and empowered to protect us, so...” She waved a hand at the bracelet.

“Tikki?” Luka asked, feeling rather overwhelmed.

“Tikki,” Marinette called, and a tiny red kwami zipped up from her side to haven between them. “Luka, meet Tikki, the kwami of creation,” Marinette gestured. “She’s the source of that energy you kept noticing, by the way.”

“That’s only partially true,” Tikki interjected. “Marinette has a strong creative spirit on her own, which makes her very well suited to be Ladybug. The resonance you feel is because we’re so closely attuned.” She smiled, zipping close to examine Luka’s face. “You wouldn’t be able to sense it at all if you weren’t a true creative spirit too.”

Sass hissed a quiet laugh and perched on his shoulder, tail curling around Luka’s neck. “Don’t get greedy, Tikki. Thisss one isss mine.” Tikki rolled her eyes, giggling, and zipped back to Marinette.

“So, if you haven’t changed your mind after learning about all this unexpected craziness that comes attached to me,” Marinette was trying to be positive, he could tell, but there was still an edge of apprehension in her smile. “The bracelet is yours.” 

“Of course I haven’t,” Luka exclaimed, putting his hand on hers. “I mean, I’m not saying this all isn’t kind of heavy, and it makes me nervous that we’re—that  _ I’m _ in the public eye so much. But if you’re okay with this, then so am I. I trust your judgement.”

Marinette flipped her hair. “I plan to be famous with or without you, mister rock star, so don’t go playing the martyr.” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “We’ll make it work. Just like everything else. The butterfly and the peacock have been recovered and repaired, there’s no reason for anyone to come after the Miraculous now that the magic is nudging people’s thoughts away from it, and no one but Adrien knows I was Ladybug, so no one would even know where to start looking. We should be fine, this is just a precaution.”

Luka blinked at her for a moment, putting things together. “Adrien is Chat Noir,” he said after a moment. Sass chuckled from his shoulder. 

“Yep,” Marinette smiled. “It’s the only Miraculous not in my possession. I couldn’t bear to take Plagg from him after everything that happened. Most of the kwamis prefer to stay in the Miracle Box unless they have a bearer, but sometimes they like to come out and have a chat and they’ll probably all want to meet you sooner or later, so just be prepared and try not to scream.” She narrowed her eyes slightly and pointed a finger at Sass and Tikki. “And you tell them the bedroom is a kwami-free zone, got it? Divine being or not, the first kwami that interrupts us is going to find themselves sealed in their Miraculous and dropped to the bottom of the Seine.”

Luka blushed as the kwamis tittered.

“So, uh…” Luka rubbed a hand through his hair, dropping his chin to his chest as he tried to process. “You got any more bombs to drop on me?”

“This was the big one,” Marinette giggled. “Nothing else but the usual stuff left. Money, living arrangements, future plans, kids.” She paused. “You’re okay with kids, right?”

Luka’s head snapped up and he stared at her, wide-eyed. “You want to have children...with me?”

Marinette sat back slightly and she blinked at him. “I mean, not right now, but in a few years, yeah. Is that...not something you want?”

Luka was having trouble processing. “It’s...honestly not something I thought I could have.”

She tilted her head. “Why not?”

“I’m...I didn’t...I mean, I haven’t exactly had the best example. Or...any example, really.” Luka rubbed a hand through his hair sheepishly. “I mean it sounds kind of stupid when I say it out loud, but I guess that’s always how I felt in the back of my mind. I guess I’ve never been serious enough with anyone to give it any real thought.” 

Marinette relaxed a little, and though there was still tension in her forehead, her eyes were soft. “Why wouldn’t anyone think you’d make a great dad? You’re kind, thoughtful, committed, gentle, respectful, supportive, protective. I could go on. Any daughter would be lucky to have you for a father,” she said, taking his hand and squeezing it. “And I can’t think of  _ anyone _ I’d rather have teaching my sons how to be kind, compassionate, respectful men.” 

Shit, he was going to cry and he still couldn’t look away from her. 

“And if it helps, you’ll have a father now. My father. I know he’d be thrilled if you asked his advice. Most importantly,” she said, leaning in, “You have a huge heart and so much love to give. I know you’ll be fine. And when the time comes, we’ll figure it out together.”

Luka was reminded of his own words to Ivan and smiled faintly.

“But is that what you want, Luka?” Marinette squeezed his hand. “That’s kind of an important question.”

“I—yes, absolutely,” he breathed. A little girl with his eyes and Marinette’s smile and a too-big guitar in her arms, or a little boy covered in flour as he learned how to make bread from his grandparents—he’d never thought about it before but now that he had, he absolutely wanted it. 

Marinette relaxed, and her smile turned blinding. “Good.”

For a moment, they just looked at each other, and then Luka took her face in his hands and kissed her—or started to, before realizing his abrupt movement had tumbled Sass off his shoulder. Luka had completely forgotten the kwamis were there. He’d also forgotten they could float, he nearly knocked Marinette in the face as he scrambled to catch Sass, who caught himself and levitated, chuckling at Luka’s floundering and apologies.

“He’s fine,” Marinette reassured Luka, laughing, and then she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back to her lips. “And so am I. Come back here, already.”

The tittering kwamis made a discreet retreat as the newly engaged couple embraced. 

* * *

The rest of the day was consumed with phone calls and a lot of screaming. The next day, Marinette wasted no time getting moved in for good. Luka had a stupid grin on his face the whole day and didn’t make even the slightest effort to hide it.

“I don’t know why you’re so excited,” Marinette giggled. “I practically lived here anyway. The only real difference is now I have to find somewhere to put all my crap.”

“It’s an important difference,” Luka protested. “And I know even though I told you to feel at home, you still think of this as my place.”

“It is— _ was _ your place.”

“And now it’s really our place, and that’s why it matters,” Luka told her, and then he sighed. “I almost wish we could get a new place that we picked out together,” he mused. 

“Luka, this apartment is amazing, it’s perfect for what you need, and you love it,” Marinette said practically. “I’ll fit myself in, you’ll see.”

“You shouldn’t have to fit yourself in around me, though.” Luka rubbed the back of his neck. “It doesn’t seem fair.”

“Stop worrying about it, Luka,” Marinette told him, picking up a pile of clothes and carrying them into the bedroom. “You’ll be gone on tour for months, remember? That’s plenty of time for me to get rid of your stuff.” 

Luka huffed a laugh at that. Nope, there was no wiping the stupid grin off his face and it was pointless to try.

A knock on his door startled him, and he and Marinette looked at each other. 

“Juleka?” Marinette suggested.

Luka shook his head and got up to answer the door. “She’s shooting a new cosmetic ad this week, and Rose always goes with her when she’s got to be on camera. Maybe a delivery? Usually security calls me first though.”

Marinette shrugged and picked up another pile of clothes to carry to the bedroom. 

Luka opened the door and blinked, momentarily speechless.

“Hey,” Adrien grinned, hands in his pockets. “I brought Marinette a wedding present.” There was a small knot of people behind him with expressions of longsuffering and a bright red ribbon tied around the whole group with a big bow. Luka glanced over them in puzzlement, and then, recognizing a couple of faces, he turned and called into the apartment.

“Marinette? I think you’d better take this delivery personally.”

“What?” Marinette’s voice came from his bedroom. 

“Come on out here.”

She came, but pouting. “Luka, I still have so much to do.”

Luka just stepped aside and opened the door wide. Marinette stopped and went pale as she took in the scene. Then she looked at Adrien. “What did you do?” she asked flatly.

“A little bird told me you were making an exception on your stupid polciy about wearing your own designs for the wedding,” Adrien said with a flicker of a smile. “I thought you might need a little help with your dress, given your frankly insane timeline.” Marinette stared at him, and Adrien quickly added, “And before you go off on me, I’m paying them, and they volunteered.”

“They won’t even all fit in here!” Marinette gasped, and Adrien chuckled and tossed her a key. Her hand snapped up to catch it, proving her superhero retirement hadn’t diminished her reflexes in the least. 

“They come with a workspace,” Adrien said smugly. He raised a cautionary finger at Luka. “You’re not allowed. No peeking before the big day.”

“I think I can handle it,” Luka said wryly. He smiled at Marinette’s still gobsmacked expression and kissed her cheek. “I’ll go in the bedroom so you can haul out all those supplies I know you bought without me watching.” He held out a fist to Adrien. “Thanks Adrien.” 

“Congratulations, Luka.” Adrien bumped his fist with a bittersweet smile that Luka couldn’t really fault him for.

Luka looked at Francis in the middle of the group. “Make sure she takes breaks to eat for me, okay?” Francis nodded vigorously.

Marinette made a few more inarticulate noises that ended in a huge hug for Adrien and as Luka retreated to the bedroom, he could hear her giving orders to get that stupid ribbon off those poor people, what is wrong with you, you big dork? ** **   
** **

* * *

The next few days were...weird. Luka was walking on a cloud most of the time, going through the motions of his everyday routine with giddy disregard for what he was actually doing, only really tuning in to answer questions periodically from Marinette and Lucille about wedding arrangements or preferences. Even the press mobs didn’t bother him as much as usual, as tedious as it was to have to have his bodyguards follow him around everywhere he went just so he could get in the door. He made time to have dinner with Marinette and Tom and Sabine, letting the warmth of their happiness flow over him. He took Marinette to have breakfast on the boat with Anarka, too. They got on as well as they ever had in that ‘live and let live’ way that both of them shared.  ** **   
** **

However, having little tiny flying creatures pop up at random was a little unsettling even when he knew it was coming. Most of them were perfectly pleasant little...god-things. Some of them were more eccentric than others. The ones who hadn’t gotten out of the box much were zipping all over the apartment, fascinated especially with Luka’s music gear. He shared a cup of tea with Wayzz and Sass, and Wayzz answered some of his questions about what it meant for Marinette to be the Guardian. Trixx was perfectly pleasant to speak to, but rearranged Luka’s pick collection while no one was looking. Duusu popped up in his studio and they had a little jam session, Duusu dancing manically in the air while Luka shredded. Kaalki examined Luka’s album covers and awards and proclaimed him sufficiently exceptional. Sass and Tikki together had to chase Xuppu back into the Miracle Box, and that was a trip and a half, watching them zip around phasing through anything in their way, before Tikki had sufficiently intimidated Xuppu from causing any further chaos. One afternoon he opened his eyes from his meditation and found a small circle of tiny gods gathered around him, mirroring his meditation pose. ** **   
** **

“They like you,” Marinette confided in him one night, sliding behind him on the couch and draping herself over his back. “They say you have good energy, and they like your music. Kwamis sing, you know?” ** **   
** **

“Really?” Luka lifted his eyebrows slightly. ** **   
** **

“Yes, when they’re separated, they do some kind of magic singing to connect with each other.” She nuzzled his neck affectionately. “The novelty will wear off in a while and they won’t be around so much.” ** **   
** **

“I don’t mind,” Luka said, picking a few notes thoughtfully on the guitar. “They’re cute, and mostly they’re just...there. It’s a bit strange, but I’ll get used to it.” He leaned his head back to press his cheek against her hair.  ** **   
** **

He’d grown to love playing with her wrapped around his back. Sometimes he played whatever she requested. Sometimes he played her the sappiest love songs he could think of, until they lost themselves in laughter and kisses. But her song was still his favorite, being tuned in completely to her, playing for the sheer joy of it, with her pressed close against him, silent and still except for her quiet breath and soft touches against his skin. ** **   
** **

“I love you,” he said softly, smiling as he played. ** **   
** **

“I love you too.” ** **   
** **

“I’m gonna marry you, weird entourage of tiny god-fairies and all.” ** **   
** **

“I’m so lucky,” Marinette sighed, and he sensed the shift in her emotion even before he heard her voice go rough and her arms tighten around him. “I’m so lucky, Luka. I love you so much. I almost wish I  _ could _ just marry you in the morning, but my parents would kill me and Lucille would probably have an aneurysm if we changed the plans at this point.” ** **   
** **

“I’m not going anywhere,” Luka sighed contentedly, turning his face to nuzzle and kiss her cheek. “We can make it.”  ** **   
** **

* * *

The next day, Sass was asleep on Luka’s amp in a small nest of soft fiber scraps pilfered from Marinette’s workroom. The snake kwami found the vibrations soothing, which was convenient, Luka thought, since he spent so much time playing. Suddenly Sass stirred and sat up, and gave a smile that was somehow gentle despite the fangs. “Nooroo. Welcome, friend.”  ** **   
** **

Luka looked up but saw nothing.  ** **   
** **

“There isss no need for fear,” Sass said soothingly. “Pleassse join usss.” ** **   
** **

A small purple face peeped around the door frame. The kwami eyed Sass, and then turned his eyes to Luka. He shrank back behind the door when he saw Luka’s gaze on him. The edge of a butterfly wing visible over Nooroo’s shoulder explained a lot, and Luka’s eyes widened slightly. ** **   
** **

“Hello,” Luka said as gently as he could. “You can come in if you want. You’re very welcome here.” Nooroo didn’t move, and Luka went back to his guitar, playing something soft and soothing, watching out of the corner of his eye but trying not to be too obvious about it.  ** **   
** **

“I know you can sssensse him,” Luka heard Sass say. “You know you have nothing to fear. But if you are not ready, we will not take offenssse.” ** **   
** **

Another moment, and the butterfly kwami slipped inside, skirting the wall toward Sass’s nest. ** **   
** **

“He feels gentle,” Nooroo said, very quietly, as he settled next to Sass. ** **   
** **

“He isss,” Sass soothed, curling his tail protectively around his friend. “Ressst, if you like. You are sssafe here.” ** **   
** **

Nooroo cuddled up next to Sass, his tiny expression enough to break Luka’s heart. “Safe,” he murmured, a little doubtfully. ** **   
** **

Luka swallowed hard. He couldn’t imagine what the kwami suffered at the hands of Hawkmoth. Luka was empathetic by nature and practice, and that could be painful enough in the wrong situations, but Nooroo literally sensed emotion. To be forced to feel out the worst emotions he could find day after day must have been incredibly painful. Not to mention serving Gabriel Agreste was no picnic. One only had to look at Adrien’s issues to imagine how much worse it would be for a creature Gabriel believed to be nothing more than a tool. No wonder Nooroo had preferred the quiet, passionless world of the Miracle Box for years after Gabriel’s defeat. ** **   
** **

Luka wondered if the kwami could feel his pity, and tried to decide what would be the most soothing for him. After a moment of thought, Luka began to play an old Scottish lullaby from his childhood, one that he associated with warmth and safety and his mother’s boundless love. He darted a glance at Sass and the little snake gave a tiny nod of approval.  ** **   
** **

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been playing before Marinette appeared in the doorway, looking concerned. “You okay?” she asked softly. “You usually play that when you’re upset.” ** **   
** **

“Fine,” Luka smiled at her. “Just felt like relaxing a bit.” He flicked his eyes toward the kwami nest. She followed his gaze. ** **   
** **

“Nooroo,” Marinette said, face lighting up. “I’m glad to see you.”

Nooroo shrank into himself a bit. “Thank you, Guardian. I felt it would at least be polite to meet your intended.” He paused, looking between Luka and Marinette with a thoughtful expression. “I have seen great love twisted into selfishness and isolation,” Nooroo said solemnly. “But this is a soft love, a...generous love. It makes room for many. It is...good.” 

Luka smiled. “There’s room for you too, Nooroo, whenever you feel the need of it. You’re always welcome.”

Nooroo nodded. “Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Marinette smiled, and blew him a kiss. Tikki slipped around her to join Sass and Nooroo. Tikki hugged the butterfly and Sass patted his friend gently. Between the two of them, he seemed to relax a bit more. Luka smiled to himself. 

Yeah, it was a little weird, but when in his life had he ever been “normal” anyway? ** **   
** **

* * *

The two weeks somehow went slow and fast all at once. Luka remembered the feeling well; he’d felt the same in the last few weeks before his first tour. 

Friday morning saw their apartment invaded by a horde of women. Alya, Sabine, Rose, and Juleka took Marinette over to the girls’ apartment to get ready, leaving Luka to the tender mercies of his mother to make sure that he was ready and presentable on time. Luka rolled his eyes and refrained from pointing out that it was Marinette who had the reputation for chronic lateness, and that Anarka was the last person he would have picked to enforce order.

Still, he was glad Anarka was there. She went straight for his music studio and picked up his guitar, playing old tunes he remembered from his childhood. It soothed his jitters a little bit. It wasn’t that Luka was nervous or afraid exactly, he just...wanted to get on with it. He wanted to marry Marinette.

“It’s my wedding day,” he said softly to the mirror, just to make it real. “I’m marrying Marinette today.”

“You are,” Sass agreed, hovering beside him. “Are you ready?”

“So ready,” sighed Luka. “More than ready. Why can’t we already be married ready.”

It still felt surreal as he mechanically dressed himself. His suit had been provided by Marinette’s employer, as a bribe to let Marinette off work early for all the things that had to be done over the last couple of weeks, and for the wedding today, but Marinette had done the fittings herself, so it looked impeccable on him. It included a vest, but as he had requested, no tie. 

“All right, let’s have a look at ye,” Anarka said, stumping around him. “Can’t be having you looking sloppy for yer bride, eh?” When she had circled him twice, brushed some imaginary dust from his shoulder, she sighed and said, “Well, I guess yer grown up after all, me boy.” 

“I love you, Maman,” he said, smiling fondly at her, pretending he hadn’t seen her eyes watering behind her glasses. She returned the smile in kind, and then hugged him tight. 

“Come on,” she said. “Play with yer old Maman for a bit. Those girls’ll be forever getting ready, and you’ll just fret if ye do nothing.”

“That sounds great, Maman,” Luka said with relief, going to retrieve his old guitar.

They played duets until Juleka came to tell them that Marinette and the car were ready. The original Couffaines indulged in a quick group hug, and then Luka hugged them each individually again. 

“You’ll get wrinkled,” Juleka chided in a mumble. She looked up at him and he looked back at her and for a long moment they were silent. She didn’t need to speak for him to know how happy she was for him, and how relieved, and how much she wished for his happiness. He didn’t have to say anything for her to know how much he loved her and that he would always take care of her and that she would always be his sister.

“Come on,” she said at last, voice thick. “Let’s go get you married.”

Lucille took a step forward from where she stood by the door, clipboard in hand. “I sent everybody else down to the cars already so you two can have a moment. We’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

For practicality’s sake, the couple and their witnesses were all going to City Hall together in the limo, while the others went ahead to the reception. Lucille ushered Juleka and Anarka our and to the elevator, leaving Luka alone. 

Well. Not quite alone. Suddenly there was a small floating rainbow of tiny gods stretched across his living room. “We give you all the blessings we can bestow on this day,” Wayzz spoke for them.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful!” cried Duusu, darting back and forth in her excitement. “Love is so beautiful!”

“Thanks, friends,” Luka smiled. “Really.” Wayzz nodded, and the kwamis zipped back out of the room, except for Sass, who took his place in Luka’s pocket.

Luka crossed the hall to Juleka’s apartment and stood there for a moment, just trying to breathe, outside the door. 

“She isss the sssame woman you loved yesssterday,” Sass said quietly, peeping out from his pocket. 

“Yeah,” Luka said with a lopsided smile. “But now she’s all dressed up and we’re getting married.”

The kwami chuckled. “Indeed.”

“Okay,” Luka said, feeling his breathing speed up in spite of himself. “Okay, here we go.” He knocked on the door, and then let himself in. 

“Marinette?” he called softly.

“In here,” she answered, and he went a little further into the apartment. She was standing in the light of the living room window, nearly glowing in her fitted white dress, her modest train artfully arranged behind her. Her hair was elaborately piled up and adorned with a tiara that he recognized as Rose’s. Her miraculous was in her ears, of course, and the blue seaglass pendant lay against her collarbone. 

Marinette smiled with trembling lips. “They posed me like a statue and made me promise not to move until you came in.”

“You look stunning,” he told her honestly. “I’m almost afraid to touch you.” 

She held her hands out to him and he quickly crossed the room to take them. “You’re shaking,” he observed.

“I’m going to lose my mind if we don’t do this soon,” she admitted, and they laughed together.

Luka raised her fingers to his lips and kissed all of them reverently. “Then let’s go, before we both fall to pieces,” he said, offering her his arm.  ** **   
** **

* * *

The ride to City Hall was a blur. All he remembered was Marinette’s fingers gripping his as tightly as he held hers.  ** **   
** **

Once they stepped inside, everything seemed to go in fast forward until he heard the mayor say, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”  ** **   
** **

The words gave Luka a swooping feeling in his stomach and his knees went weak. He looked at Marinette and she met his eyes with the same awed look on her face. Then they both broke into huge smiles and threw their arms around each other. Luka sighed deeply as he hugged her, the butterflies in his stomach disappearing into a profound sense of relief that felt like stepping into his apartment for the first time after a three-month tour. ”I love you,” he whispered into her hair, and felt her snuggle closer. Then she lifted her face and he kissed her reverently. The mayor had to clear his throat before Luka could manage to let her go. As soon as he did, she was enveloped by her parents. Luka wiped his eyes discreetly as Lucille shuffled them off to another room, and chuckled when he saw Juleka doing the same.  ** **   
** **

Heaven help them if the world ever found out what a bunch of softies the Couffaines were under their punk-goth-pirate exteriors. ** **   
** **

Juleka hugged Marinette and gave Luka a wicked smile over his new wife’s shoulder. “Marinette’s my favorite,” Juleka told him smugly. Luka just laughed and put his arms around the both of them, kissing each on the top of her head, and then turned to give Rose the same treatment. The moment he turned away from her he was caught up into the most epic bear hug of his life courtesy of Tom. He’d have laughed again if he could get enough air. Sabine pounced as soon as Tom set his feet back on the ground, and damn if the small woman didn’t hug him almost as hard as Tom.  ** **   
** **

“Whew,” Luka put his hand on his chest when Sabine released him and grinned at Marinette. At his  _ wife _ . “I’m going to have to step up my hug game now that I’m part of the family.” ** **   
** **

Marinette giggled and moved toward him, but Juleka caught her arm. “Nuh-uh. We’ve got a party to get to and if you go over there now it’ll take a crowbar to separate you.” She spun Marinette towards the door. “Let me remind you that Maman is waiting, and keeping Maman waiting with nothing to entertain her is  _ unwise _ .” ** **   
** **

Rose gasped and Luka winced. “She’s right, we better go,” he admitted, offering his hand—to his  _ wife. _ ** **   
** **

“If we must,” Marinette sighed, but she was smiling brightly as she put her hand in his. “I suppose your adoring fans and annoying followers are waiting for us too.” ** **   
** **

Luka grinned at her. “Just this once, shall we give them what they want?” ** **   
** **

Marinette flashed him a grin. “Lead the way, husband.” He had to grab her up and kiss her for that, much to Lucille’s frustration, and it took another minute to get her smoothed back out and camera ready.  ** **   
** **

Luka didn’t make the least effort to hide his joy or his love for Marinette as they emerged from City Hall into the bright morning light and cascade of camera clicks together, hand in hand. He wanted everyone to see it. They smiled and waved, and Luka bent Marinette back (not into a full dip this time, just enough to make the folds of her dress fall in elegant points toward the ground, like they’d practiced) and kissed her tenderly. Then he bent down and she jumped on his back, the two of them laughing as he piggybacked her through the path their security team cut to the limo, trailed by the long-suffering Lucille and the rest of the wedding party.  ** **   
** **

Luka waved everyone else into the limo before him, and then turned and waved one more time to his fans, though he couldn’t see much past the cameras. Then he slid into the car next to Marinette and locked their fingers together.  ** **   
** **

Somehow Marinette and Lucille had conspired to rent them a boat instead of a party hall. The Liberty was too small to hold all the guests, but Lucille had found them a boat with a stage and a largely flat deck made for dancing. It had the benefit of letting them have their wedding outdoors while keeping them secure from party crashers and reporters. The Seine had always been a huge part of Luka’s life, and he was glad to be on the water for such a momentous occasion.  ** **   
** **

Most of the guests were already on the boat, and Luka made his grand entrance over a gangplank decorated in flowers and ribbons with Anarka on his arm, trailed by Juleka and Rose, and then Marinette’s parents escorted her across.  ** **   
** **

The ship cast off and everything was a whirl for a while. They exchanged rings on the stage and spoke simple, sincere vows in front of all their gathered friends and loved ones. Luka danced with both his mother and sister, a three-person Scottish reel they’d danced together since he was a child, performed this time with so much gusto and at such a tempo that it left all three of them laughing and breathless (he had no idea where Nino had dug up that track but he was going to have to get a copy). Tom waltzed Marinette around the room with such enthusiasm that Luka wasn’t entirely sure her feet actually touched the floor at any point.  ** **   
** **

Then Marinette was in his arms again, and he was so lost in her eyes that he missed Jagged beginning to play at the piano until her smile turned teasing and her eyebrows lifted. Luka wasn’t the best dancer, but it didn’t matter; all he wanted was to hold her close and let the music move them. Marinette seemed to feel the same, resting her head on his shoulder with a little sigh of contentment as the rest of the party was invited to join them on the dance floor.  ** **   
** **

Luka gave her up to Adrien for a dance with only a little reluctance. Luka understood now better than he ever had how deep their bond ran. Before Adrien took Marinette to the dance floor, he leaned close to Luka and held open his coat for a moment. “Plagg wants to talk to you,” Adrien whispered, and a black blur shot from his coat to Luka’s. “Better find somewhere private, he’s not patient,” Adrien warned.  ** **   
** **

Luka excused himself at the first opportunity to the men’s room, which was thankfully empty, and the black blur popped out of his coat and hovered in front of him, looking unimpressed. “So,” the little cat kwami said, more intimidating than anything that cute had a right to be. “You married my Guardian.” ** **   
** **

Luka nodded warily. “I did.” ** **   
** **

“I know Sass is all about second chances and that crap,” Plagg said, rolling to float on his back for a moment, and then sitting up to hover right in front of Luka’s eyes, his own cat-green eyes narrowed. “I’m just telling you now, I don’t go for that. I’m  _ destruction _ , you got it? There won’t be any second chances with me. So you better take care of my Guardian, understand?”

Luka lifted his eyebrows. “Did you have this talk with Adrien?”

“One, that’s none of your business. Two, my kitten has extenuating circumstances. Three, you bet your ass we had  _ words _ about what went down before. But I like him, so all I did was give him shit luck for a few months. You can ask him how much fun that was.” Plagg narrowed his eyes again. “I don’t like you. I don’t know you. If I hear from Marinette  _ or _ Tikki that you stepped one single toe out of line—”

“Are you quite finissshed?” Sass popped his head out of Luka’s breast pocket. “Enough posssturing, cat. You made your point. The Guardian isss resssponsssible for much greater decisionsss than this. Do you trussst her judgement so little?” Sass huffed, and Luka would have said the kwami stuck his nose in the air if he’d had one. “Or mine?”

“Yeah well I’ve been around for a few thousand cycles longer than you, fangs, and even smart women can be stupid about the men they love,” Plagg spat. “So there’s no harm in making things clear from the start, right?”

“Fine,” Sass huffed. “You have done ssso. Now return to your bearer and leave mine to me.”

The little cat folded his flipper arms and  _ did _ stick his nose in the air. Before the cat could say anything else, Luka interrupted. “Plagg—Thanks. For everything you and Chat Noir did back then. For all that I’m sure you do for Adrien now. And especially for looking out for Marinette. I really appreciate it.”

“Didn’t do it for you,” Plagg mumbled. 

“Even so. Come on, let’s get you back to Adrien. I want my wife back. No offense, but I don’t think this was a fair trade.” Luka grinned.

Plagg made a noise that might have been a chuckle if he weren’t trying to act tough, and zipped back under cover.

“Charming friend you’ve got there,” Luka commented as he found Adrien.

“Sorry,” Adrien shrugged. “I hope he wasn’t too awful.”

“It was fine.” Luka stepped close for a moment to let Plagg slip back, and then moved away. “All the same, I think you can keep him and I’ll go find my wife.”

Adrien grinned. “She had her ‘up to something’ grin on, so good luck with that.” 

“Oh boy,” Luka sighed, but he was grinning as he said it. He hunted through the crowd, stopping for handshakes and backslaps and congratulations. Really, considering the short notice they’d given, a surprising number of people had been able to attend. There were a fair number of industry people here that Luka had felt kind of obligated to invite, but the crowd was mostly friends and loved ones of friends, and that was perfect.

He finally found Marinette conspiring with Nino. “Now what are you up to?” Luka asked, slipping an arm around his  _ wife _ . 

Marinette grinned up at him. “I just think we should take a quick peek back at where all this started.”

“Oh my God,” Luka laughed, as the big screen over the currently empty stage lit up and a familiar kittycorn logo flashed up on screen. “You didn’t.” 

“Of course I did,” Marinette giggled, as Kitty Section’s very first music video played, the one they had sent to Bob Roth’s contest all those years ago. 

“Wow, that brings back memories,” Luka sighed. He looked at the stage, and then spotted Juleka moving through the crowd near him. “Hey Jules,” he bellowed, more than loud enough to get her attention. She turned toward him with an exasperated expression and Luka nodded at the stage with a grin. “What do you think?”

Juleka grinned back. “I’ll get Rose.”

“Nino, tell them to get the mics live up there,” Luka instructed, and then he kissed Marinette’s cheek and headed for the stage. Juleka and Rose were right behind him as he picked up his guitar and slung it over his shoulder. He stepped up to the microphone and tapped it. “Turn me up guys,” he hollered, waving at the sound techs. They jumped to it and the microphone crackled to life. “There we go,” Luka grinned. “Adrien, come on up here. Hey Mylène,” Luka called. “Can I borrow Ivan for a minute?” Mylène smiled and shooed Ivan toward the stage. “Come on up here big guy.” Ivan rubbed the back of his neck, smiling shyly, but the way he spun the drumsticks between his fingers told Luka he wasn’t too out of practice.

“All right,” Luka surveyed his former bandmates, every one of them grinning widely, even Juleka. “You ready, Rose?” At her thumbs up, he grinned back at Ivan. “Count us off, man. No, wait,” he held up a hand, and turned back to the crowd. “We’re still missing somebody. Marinette, get up here, baby.” He grinned. “You’ve always been my unicorn.” There was a chorus of “aww’s” and a few laughing “eews” as Marinette made her way to the stage. She came to stand beside Luka, and he put his arm around her waist and kissed her temple. “All right, let’s do this. Go for it, Ivan.” He released Marinette and slid his guitar into position. 

“YOU KNOW I LOVE UNICORNS,” Rose belted, proving the years had not diminished her lung capacity in the slightest. Luka joined in, improvising a harmony to the old but familiar vocals as he sang to a laughing Marinette. It wasn’t a perfect performance, they were all a little rusty, but it was more fun than Luka had had in years. 

Afterwards, Adrien and Ivan relinquished their places to Luka’s regular backup, and he had someone bring up a stool for Marinette so she could be comfortable. He wanted her close to him. She put her hands over his mouth in surprise as he played the opening riff he’d been working on, and he winked at her as he stepped up to the mic. This was his first ever performance of  _ Lightning on the Water _ and he wanted it to be perfect. Luka knew how to play an audience, but this one time, he ignored them and sang just for Marinette. The crowd of guests was nearly silent as his guitar mimicked sparks dancing over the water, and he sang in low, smokey tones about the draw of deadly beauty, buzzing over his skin, the desire to dive deep and never come up again.

The silence lasted for a long moment after he finished.

He was still staring into Marinette’s eyes when a whoop came from the crowd that he immediately recognized as Jagged. “Now that’s a hit, kid!” the older rock star hollered. “I’m pissed I didn’t write it myself!”

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere lightened. “You can go down if you want,” Luka whispered to Marinette, and she shook her head.

“Just this once, I want to stay up here with you for a while,” she whispered back, squeezing his arm. 

“Kiss her!” someone screamed (Marinette’s grandmother, Luka thought), and laughing, Luka did. 

“What do you want me to play next?” he asked her, and she pulled him down to speak in his ear. “Yeah, I can play it,” Luka chuckled. “Too bad Clara couldn’t make it, but we’ll make do.” He stepped back to the mic. “You guys remember this one, right?” He played the opening to Miraculous.

The guests remembered the song and the dance that went with it, and Marinette danced beside him as they belted the lyrics into the microphone together. Luka had to catch the stand once when she knocked into it, but he was well versed in keeping things rolling over those kinds of incidents, so aside from a little laughter, the show went on.

Luka hadn’t planned a set list, hadn’t exactly planned an impromptu concert at all, but this was who he was, and this was what he did. When his heart got too full, it overflowed in music, and it was pouring over today. And this wasn’t like the concerts he was used to playing. This was his friends and the people he loved, a party just like they used to have in the old days. They rolled through song after song, some he’d written and some of their old favorites from other artists, some that came to his mind and others shouted at him from the crowd, and he let his happiness and love shine through in all of them. He bounced with the drumbeat pounded behind him as he belted, “I don’t care what people might think, I got your name in permanent ink—” Marinette leaned up to sing the next line with him. “Baby this ship ain't never gonna sink!” they hollered into the mic together, and he went on as Marinette laughed, dancing with her hands over her head and the beads on her white dress sparkling in the sun, “Just kiss me like nobody’s watching! Yeah people are talking, it doesn’t matter what they say. Just kiss me in the middle of the street to let the whole world see that there’s nobody else for me!” 

Of course Jagged couldn’t stay out of things for long, but by the time he leapt up on the stage, Luka was ready to let him take over. He held his wife’s hand as they went back down for more dancing and hugs and congratulations, but it was all a haze to Luka after that. Playing had finally drained off all that excess buzz he’d been carrying around all day and tucked his soul back into his body, and he just felt...peace. Peace, and maybe a little bit of impatience to be back at home with the love of his life and the weight of this day.

Jagged relinquished the stage at last to Anarka, Juleka, and Rose, who sang a beautiful three part harmony of The Parting Glass as the ship came back into dock, and then it was a long string of goodbyes and la bise before they finally found themselves alone in the car back to Luka’s apartment—their apartment.

It felt intensely quiet after all the excitement, and Luka found himself grateful for it. He slipped his arms around Marinette’s waist and she lay against his chest. They cuddled in silence all the way home. As soon as they were out of the limo, Luka scooped her up. Marinette protested, laughing, as he carried her into the building, up the elevator, and all the way up to the apartment.

“You’re wearing yourself out for nothing,” Marinette told him as she dug through his pocket, looking for his keys. 

“All that time at the gym might as well be good for something,” he said as she unlocked the door for them. “You’re heavier than you look with all that superhero muscle, but you’re still pretty light.” Marinette pushed the door open, and he carried her inside.

Luka set her down gently on the couch, and then sank down beside her, stroking her cheek tenderly. They kissed softly for a moment, and then curled together again. Sass and Tikki zipped out of their hiding places, and with a quick cheek cuddle for each of them and a whisper of congratulations, the kwamis made themselves scarce. The hem of Marinette's dress was grey with dirt, her hair was coming loose, and when she smiled up at him he could see the exhaustion on her face. Luka smoothed the loose hair away from her eyes. “We’re married,” he said softly.

“Yeah,” she smiled up at him.

“Now what?" ** **   
** **

“I don’t know,” Marinette put her hands under her chin on his chest and blinked up at him. “Never been married before. It was fun but I’m kind of worn out. Maybe you can help me get out of all this stuff and we can go take a nice warm bath and relax, and we’ll see how we feel after that.” ** **   
** **

“That sounds amazing.” He nuzzled her temple. “My wife is a genius.” ** **   
** **

Marinette giggled. “My husband is a sweetheart.”  ** **   
** **

“God, say that again,” Luka breathed, putting his arms around her.  ** **   
** **

“My husband,” Marinette murmured, smiling. ** **   
** **

“My wife.”  ** **   
** **

“Marinette D.C. Couffaine.” ** **   
** **

“I love it.” He kissed her softly, and then couldn’t make himself pull away until he was out of breath. “Let’s get the bath running, and then I’ll help you get rid of all this stuff.”  ** **   
** **

Marinette giggled. “I should warn you there are about fifty thousand pins in my hair. It might take a while.” ** **   
** **

“Then the bath should be full by the time we’re done.” He cupped her face and kissed her. “I love you so much, Marinette.” ** **   
** **

“Don’t make me cry before we get the makeup off, Luka,” Marinette smiled shakily.  ** **   
** **

“You know I don’t care,” he scoffed. “Come on.” Luka pulled her up gently.  ** **   
** **

Luka sat her down at the vanity, turned on the bath water, and then crouched beside her and helped her clean the makeup from her face. Together they found and removed all of the pins in her hair, and Luka brushed it carefully. One by one he unhooked the seemingly unending line of buttons down the back of her dress and helped her out of it, and he quickly became distracted with kissing and touching her, until she pushed him away, giggling, to turn off the bath before it ran over. Marinette slipped on a robe and left him, pouting slightly, to get undressed on his own. He forgave her though when she came back with two glasses of champagne and slipped into the bath with him.  ** **   
** **

“I don’t think I told you with everything else that was going on,” he commented as she leaned back against him, “My album proposal was approved. They loved the demo tracks I did.” ** **   
** **

“Of course they did,” Marinette sighed, laying her head back on his shoulder. “What are you going to call it?” ** **   
** **

“Second Chance,” he told her with a smile.  ** **   
** **

Marinette craned her neck to smile back at him. “Perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I simultaneously feel like I rushed some things and like I went on forever, so I hope I spent time/words on the right things and that you are all satisfied with it. <3 Many many many thanks for everyone who's read, left kudos, and commented, especially those of you who kept coming back for each new chapter. 
> 
> I might be adding a little bonus scene/epilogue thingy later tonight or tomorrow. I'm also kicking around the idea of adding some bonus scenes (maybe in a separate fic) to sort of pad out stuff I glossed over, maybe a few from Marinette's point of view? But we'll see how the muse flows. If you're sad something was left out, let me know and we'll see what happens.


	8. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so touched at all the love this story has gotten, it really made my day. <3 Here's a little peek at our lovebirds two or three years down the road.

Luka grinned broadly at the screen, his guilt at waking up his wife overpowered by the affection he felt seeing her sleepy face peeking out of the blankets.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said tenderly. “Sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s okay,” she muttered, letting her head flop to the side. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, sweetheart. How’d your show go? I wish I could have been there.”

She perked up a little, smiling. “It went great, only minor hiccups and we got a lot of positive feedback on the new line.”

Luka sighed with relief and pride. “That’s great, baby, I’m so glad. I can’t wait to see the pictures.” 

“Yes, you can, but you’re sweet to say so. Now why’d you really call me in the middle of the night?”

He tried to control his smile. “Maybe I just missed you.”

It didn’t work. Even half-asleep, his wife was sharp. “Okay, spill. What’s going on.”

Luka bit his lip, and then let his smile spread over his face. “ _ Second Chance  _ went platinum.”

“What?” Marinette screeched, launching up out of the bed. “Luka, oh my God!” 

Luka laughed. “Baby, where’d you go?” The screen went dark and the speakers went crackly. “Marinette?”

Luka rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat to wait. After a moment, the screen cleared and spun, and then Marinette’s sweet face was back. “Sorry, I knocked over the phone,” she panted. “It fell under the bed.”

Luka chuckled, propping his chin on his fist. “You don’t say.”

“Shut up, Luka.”

Luka did, smiling at her with soft eyes until she blushed and planted her face in a pillow. “Stooooop,” she whined.

“What? I’m shutting up.” 

“You know exactly what you’re doing,” Marinette complained.

Luka chuckled. “Maybe I do,” he agreed, voice low. 

“Damnit, Luka,” Marinette pouted. Then her expression changed. “So, wait, does this mean—“

“Yeah,” Luka grinned. “The execs approved the hiatus this morning and got the word to me this afternoon. No tour next season.”

He could see Marinette’s excitement, and he could see her struggle to suppress it. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“I’m more than okay with it,” Luka assured her without hesitation. “You know that, we talked about this. I’ve earned a break and we want to start a family.” He touched her face on the screen. “And honestly, I can’t wait.” 

“I just worry,” Marinette fretted. “About what will happen when you’re ready to go back. You’ll have lost all your momentum.”

“I’m not worried,” he told her. “For one thing, there’s this little thing called a comeback tour that brings a lot of hype, and for another, I'll still be making music. I really don't think a year, or even two, is going to make that big of a difference. Still, Marinette, if my career ended tomorrow I’d have no regrets. I’ve got the awards, I’ve had chart-topping singles and two platinum albums, and if I never got to play on a stage again, I’d miss it, but I wouldn’t regret it. Frankly right now I’m sick of touring and being away from you, and a break sounds like the best idea ever.”

“You’re just saying that because you’ve been on the road so long.”

Luka ignored that. “I’m gonna finish this tour,” he said softly, “And then I’m going to come home to you and we’re going to make the most beautiful baby ever born. And I’m going to be there with you every step of the way.”

Marinette blushed deeply. “These things can take some time, you know. It might not happen right away.”

“That’s okay. I’m a patient guy.” He smiled. “Are you sure it’s me you’re worried about? If you’ve decided you’re not ready, you can tell me. I’m still taking the season off regardless.”

“I’m ready,” she sighed. “It’s just…”

“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t worry about every worst case scenario in excruciating detail?” Luka grinned, and Marinette made a face.

“Yeah, basically.”

“I love you.” Luka told her. “And if...something happens, and it turns out that we're just not meant to be parents, I still won't consider a single second I got to spend with you wasted. Okay? Now stop fretting and get some sleep.”

“I don’t know how you expect me to sleep after that,” Marinette huffed. 

“I have faith,” Luka chuckled. “I can see how tired you are. I’m sorry for waking you, but I didn’t want to wait and risk you hearing it from someone else.”

“That would have been bad,” Marinette agreed. “Although you know I never read the papers while you’re gone.”

Luka rolled his eyes. “I wish the papers were all we had to worry about. I don’t want you finding out because some reporter jumped in your face trying to get the scoop.” 

“Does Rose know?” 

“I think Juleka’s calling her now in the other room, so you guys can have a meltdown together later if you want.” Luka grinned. Marinette put her face in the pillow to hide a yawn. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll try to call at a more reasonable time tomorrow.”

“All right. You make sure you get some sleep too.” She sighed. “I love you. Be safe.”

“Goodnight, Marinette.”

Luka hung up the phone and walked out to the balcony of his hotel room to lean against the rail and enjoy the breeze. He felt a familiar light weight settle on his shoulder. “She isss right. You should sssleep.” 

“I will,” Luka said as the kwami’s tail curled lightly around his neck. “I just want to stand here and feel it for a moment.” He stared at the lights around him without seeing them. “How’d I get so lucky, Sass?”

“Hmm,” Sass chuckled. “It issss not all luck. There were many momentsss along the way where you could have made a different choice. Ssso it isss part luck, to bring a sssecond chance to you, part wisdom, to let go of the pain of the passst and be willing to move forward, and part courage, to accept the risssk of being hurt again.”

Luka hummed thoughtfully, and then straightened from the rail. “I need my guitar.”

Sass sighed, lifting from his shoulder. “You need to sssleep,” the kwami chided as Luka went inside. 

“I will. I just need to get this down first.”

“That’sss what you alwaysss sssay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Sass, the kwami of longsuffering.

**Author's Note:**

> This whole story was originally inspired by Eden Daphne's amazing artwork, which got me started thinking about the grown up kids and what things would be like if they reconnected as adults.
> 
> https://edendaphne.tumblr.com/post/181616292750/super-fun-commission-of-aged-up-lukanette-for-the


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